Urgent nationwide recall for tomatoes that could KILL or trigger severe infections
An urgent recall has been issued for vine tomatoes amid fears they could be contaminated with a killer bacteria.
Ray and Mascari, based in Indiana, revealed the recall for its 4-count vine ripe tomatoes over a potential salmonella contamination.
The bacteria can cause serious and fatal illnesses in young children, the elderly and those with weakened immune systems.
In healthy adults, it can cause a fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.
The tomatoes were sold in plastic clam shells, with customers able to purchase them while dining out in restaurants or at specialist grocery stores.
An undisclosed number were sold across 11 states: Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Wisconsin.
No illnesses due to the contamination have been reported to date.
The FDA has said anyone who purchased these tomatoes should discard them immediately and not consume them.
The above image shows the packaging for the tomatoes recalled due to feared salmonella contamination
Ray and Mascari specialize in repackaging tomatoes, with the recall being issued after they were contacted by supplier Hanshaw and Capling Farms, Florida, to warn of the potential contamination.
The tomatoes were sold to restaurants by Gordon Food Service Stores, which also sells the tomatoes in its grocery stores.
In the alert, officials said that customers had already been contacted to warn them about the potential contamination risk.
It is not clear how the tomatoes became contaminated with salmonella, but they may have been irrigated with water contaminated with animal feces — which can carry the bacteria.
They may also have been contaminated via dirty surfaces or equipment in processing plants, which would spread salmonella to multiple tomatoes.
Officials said that recalled tomatoes have the UPC number 7 96553 20062 1, which is found beneath the barcode on the packaging.
They can be returned to stores for a full refund.
Salmonella contaminations are serious, and trigger about 41 food recalls every year.
Estimates suggest that more than a million people in the US catch salmonella every year, while 26,500 are hospitalized and 420 die.
Unlike most bacteria, once consumed some strains of salmonella can survive the stomach acid and travel into the intestines.
Once there, they burrow into the cells lining the organ, causing inflammation, diarrhea, abdominal cramps and fever. The bacteria may also enter the bloodstream and travel to other organs.
If left untreated, the bacteria can prove fatal by triggering sepsis — or a severe over-reaction of the body’s immune system to an infection.
Doctors can treat a salmonella infection using antibiotics and an IV drip to replace lost fluids.
