EHA Group Food Safety and Epidemiology Blog

Where's the Salmonella? CDC and FDA Still Unable to find the Source of the Tomato Outbreak

Over the past three months, the nation has been told by the FDA not to eat certain types of fresh tomatoes due to an outbreak of Salmonella saintpaul; which now totals over 1,000 confirmed individual cases in 42 states and the District of Columbia at last count.

Neither the CDC nor the FDA, the two Federal agencies responsible and accountable to the American public for these matters, has been able to accurately identify the source of the outbreak, let alone definitively whether or not tomatoes were the responsible vehicle which caused the disease.

Pet Food Recall

It has been just over two months since the FDA first learned of pet foods that were manufactured in the United States being linked deaths in both dogs and cats. During this time, the FDA has received over 10,000 complaints from consumers who believe their pets may have been affected by tainted pet food.

The FDA determined thorough its investigations that vegetable proteins imported from China and used as ingredients in pet food, were apparently responsible. Apparently, wheat gluten, which is used as a thickening agent in pet foods, was contaminated with a small nitrogen containing molecule called melamine. Melamine is used as an industrial binding agent, flame retardant and also in the manufacturing of cooking utensils and plates. Additionally, because of its nitrogen component, it is also used as a fertilizer in some parts of the world.