With the number of salmonella infections reaching more than
850, federal health officials have begun to doubt that tomatoes alone are
behind the outbreak. That’s why, during a conference held on Tuesday, they said
they had expanded their hunt beyond tomatoes, looking to see whether other
products might be responsible for the outbreak.
That does not mean they will exclude tomatoes from the list
of products being investigated. “The tomato trail is still hot. It’s a question
of whether other products are getting hotter,” Dr. David Acheson, the U.S. Food
and Drug Administration’s associate commissioner for foods said, as quoted by the
USA Today.
However, the health officials declined to say what the other
foods might be, as “it would be irresponsible for us at this point to say where
we are expanding the testing,” Acheson added. However, Mexican dishes are a
particular focus because most clusters of infected people ate at Mexican
restaurants.
The FDA also activated its Food Emergency Response Network
on Tuesday with its 100 laboratories, which will help with the analysis of
samples of foods typically consumed with tomatoes.
The Food Emergency Response Network was created after the
Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to help with the testing following a
biological terrorist attack. The agency was also activated in 2006 for E. coli
outbreak in bagged spinach and in 2007 for the contamination of pet foods with
the chemical melamine.
The federal health agencies’ inability to solve the
salmonella outbreak has made Health and Human Services Secretary Michael
Leavitt express his frustration and the White House’s. On Tuesday, he asked the
Congress for more money and stronger legal powers for food import safety
agencies, the AP reported.
The number of people infected with Salmonella Saintpaul, an
uncommon form of the bacteria, has reached 869 in 36 states and
The outbreak began in mid-April and the most recent case was reported June 20, confirming once again that the outbreak is ongoing.