25 July, 2008 - The US tomato industry is demanding up to US$100 million in compensation following the recent alert that the fruit was responsible for a nationwide salmonella outbreak.
Tomato producer and Florida Democratic politician Tim Mahoney introduced legislation earlier this week seeking US$100 million as compensation for losses incurred by the country’s producers and shippers during the alarm.
The US Department of Agriculture will make a decision on the claim.
The move comes as suspicion for the cause of the spate of salmonella incidences that affected almost 1,300 people shifted to jalapeno peppers this week. However, federal officials have yet to officially clear tomatoes.
The issue flared on 7 June when FDA officials warned consumers against eating certain kinds of raw tomatoes suspected of being contaminated with the Saintpaul salmonella strain. This led to thousands of tonnes of tomatoes being dumped by consummers, retailers and restaurants. However, even after the alarm was raised, the number of salmonella cases continued to climb and all tests on the red fruit proved negative.
The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention announced this week a single case of a contaminated pepper had been discovered in Texas. The FDA has lifted the warning on tomatoes but the CDC is still considering the possibility that they caused the earlier cases of salmonella poisoning.
There is uncertainty whether Mr Mahoney’s bill will be successful in the US Congress. Last year, spinach growers failed in a similar bid following an E.coli outbreak in 2006.