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| Richard
Ha, president of Hamakua Springs County Farms, left, poses with Chef
Alan Wong, right. Ha said his farm produces grape, cocktail, beef and
heirloom tomatoes and are not implicated in the FDA safety warning. -
Courtesy Photo |
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Big Island tomatoes are
safe
FDA: Hawaii-grown
produce excluded from safety warning
by Terrie Henderson
Tribune-Herald Staff Writer
The Food and Drug
Administration said Monday that Hawaii-grown tomatoes are not involved
in the salmonella outbreak that has effected much of the nation.
But some local businesses are still not taking any chances.
On Monday around 3 p.m., signs hung at the Puainako Pizza Hut,
informing customers no tomatoes were being served.
Charlton Makanui, shift manager, said tomatoes used at the restaurant
are bought locally, but it was a corporate decision to not serve
tomatoes, "until further notice."
"Hawaii consumers can
remain confident that tomatoes grown locally are safe to eat," said
Sandra Lee Kunimoto, chairwoman of the Hawaii Board of Agriculture. "We
understand that some local tomato growers have lost sales due to the
advisory on the mainland, which is not warranted because Hawaii
tomatoes have not been implicated."
Hawaii-grown tomatoes are not shipped to the U.S. mainland due to a
federal fruit fly quarantine and could not be the source of the
contaminated tomatoes, according to the state Department of Agriculture.
Richard Ha, president of Hamakua Springs County Farms, said his
products are safe. The farm produces grape, cocktail, beef and heirloom
tomatoes.
"We are really kind of worried that people might do a blanket thing and
say, 'all tomatoes must be bad,'" Ha said. "That is not the case. They
don't have to worry about our product. It is safe."
Joan Beyal, a supervisor
at the Lanikaula Subway, said tomatoes were being used Monday but were
not used Sunday. Jack in the Box in Hilo was serving tomatoes Monday
but had pulled them during the weekend. Taco Bell in Hilo was not using
tomatoes Monday.
Micah Hart, assistant manager at Cafe Pesto in Hilo, said the
restaurant was using tomatoes Monday and, "we only purchase our
tomatoes from a local farm."
McDonald's restaurants across Hawaii resumed serving tomatoes in
sandwiches Monday.
Most of the tomatoes sold in KTA Super Stores are locally grown, but
there is one variety of organic tomato that was pulled from shelves
because it is grown in Mexico, said Lenard Graham, assistant store
manager at the KTA Puainako store.
Salmonella food poisoning first linked to uncooked tomatoes spread to
16 states, federal health officials said Saturday.
Investigations by the Texas and New Mexico Departments of Health and
the U.S. Indian Health Service have tied 56 cases in Texas and 55 in
New Mexico to raw tomatoes.
An additional 50 people have been sickened by the same Salmonella
"Saintpaul" infection in Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut,
Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Oklahoma, Oregon, Utah, Virginia,
Washington and Wisconsin, the federal Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention reported.
Investigators are trying to determine if raw tomatoes also are
responsible for the illnesses in those states, said Arleen Porcell, a
CDC spokeswoman.
The source of the tomatoes responsible for the illnesses has not been
pinpointed, but health officials in Texas and New Mexico said none of
them were grown in those two states.
Cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, tomatoes sold with the vine still
attached and homegrown tomatoes are likely not the source of the
outbreak, Busemeyer said.
Also not associated with the outbreak are raw Roma, red plum and round
red tomatoes from Arkansas, California, Georgia, North Carolina, South
Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Belgium, Canada, the Dominican Republic,
Guatemala, Israel, Netherlands and Puerto Rico, according to the U.S.
Food and Drug Association.
Salmonella is a bacteria that lives in the intestinal tracts of humans
and other animals. It usually is transmitted to humans by eating food
contaminated with animal feces.
Most infected people suffer fever, diarrhea and abdominal cramps
starting 12 to 72 hours after infection. The illness tends to last four
to seven days. Many people recover without treatment, but severe
infection and death is possible.
-- The Associated Press contributed to this report.
E-mail Terrie Henderson at thenderson@hawaiitribune--herald.com.
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