Florida rolls out tomatoes after FDA clearance

Florida rolls out tomatoes after FDA clearance Florida's tomato shippers released a collective sigh of relief on Tuesday when the Food and Drug Administration declared the state's crop 'safe to eat.'
   Tomato were quickly pulled from many store shelves and restaurant menus nationwide on June 7 after the FDA warned consumers to avoid eating uncooked red plum, red Roma, and red round tomatoes due to their possible link to cases of salmonella.
   'I was confident Florida was not the problem and was not the source of the salmonella outbreak impacting other states,' said Charles H. Bronson, Florida agriculture and consumer services commissioner, in a statement. 'Florida tomato growers have one of the most stringent tomato production programs in the country.'
   Florida also stood much to lose if the tainted tomatoes were traced back to its farms. The state is one of the country's top producers of tomatoes and ships them by the truckload mostly throughout the states west of the Mississippi River. In 2006-2007, Florida's tomato industry had $464 million in cash receipts.
   Tomato harvesting is underway in three areas of Florida: Quincy near Tallahassee, and Ruskin and Palmetto near Tampa. Retailers are being notified that Florida's tomatoes are 'safe to eat,' Bronson said.
   For a list of U.S. tomato-producing regions declared safe by the FDA, access www.foodsafety.gov.