The search for the source of salmonella poisoning that sickened more than 800 people in the past two months demonstrates the importance of dealing with several inadequacies in our food inspection system.
To be honest, calling it a "system" is overly generous. In fact, there are as many as 12 agencies with a regulatory finger in the pies and other foods you eat. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, for example, inspects meat and poultry, while the Food and Drug Administration has regulatory authority over about 80 percent of our food, including produce.
safety standards for fresh produce and other raw foods would take tens of millions more. Yet an executive order from President

Thursday the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control declared all types of fresh tomatoes safe to eat, saying they're no longer a salmonella source as once thought. Fresh jalapeño and serrano peppers remain on the warning list, however.
PEPPERS SUSPECTED: Thursday federal health officials declared all types of tomatoes free of salmonella contamination. The investigation now focuses on jalapeño and serrano peppers.
for Salmonella saintpaul:

(CNN) - Tomatoes are again safe to eat, the Food and Drug Administration said Thursday, weeks after the food was blamed as a source of a salmonella outbreak

By Sue Mueller SUNDAY July 20, 2008 (foodconsumer.org) - Tomatoes may have been off the hook as a suspect as a source for the salmonella outbreak that has sickened more than 1000 people, but people still feel the pain.
The warning by the Food and Drug Administration was lifted Thursday. The agency said there is no evidence to suggest tomatoes on the market carry any bacteria associated with the outbreak. But hot peppers like jalapeno peppers have become the new suspects.
red by the outbreak. Although all parties in the whole system have the responsibility to sell only the wholesome fruit and vegetables, contamination with pathogens can't be avoided at a rate of 100%.

By Alice Turner The US Food and Drug Administration announced Thursday, July 17, that it has determined that fresh tomatoes now available in the domestic

US health officials dropped their warning against eating fresh tomatoes, as the toll in the ongoing salmonella outbreak reached 1220 confirmed cases,

By Amadea Britton | Newsweek Web Exclusive Florida's tomato growers on what it was like to defend maligned produce during the recent salmonella outbreak and

It’s just about showtime for local tomatoes, and growers are hoping consumers will flock to the mountain-grown crop in the wake of a federal warning — and

By Jim Downing More than 1200 people in 42 states now have been sickened by a rare strain of salmonella bacteria carried on tomatoes ... or maybe hot

By the time the Food and Drug Administration cleared tomatoes Thursday in its investigation of a salmonella outbreak, California's tomato sales had plummeted more than 40 percent.
"It's a government-made disaster," said Melanie Horwath, office manager and a member of the fourth generation of the family that runs Gonzales Packing Company in the Salinas Valley that saw estimated crop losses of $2 million. "The government has a responsibility to only provide facts, not idle speculation. They're going to put us all out of business."
scare led to draconian responses by large growers in the Salinas Valley, where much of the nation's "leafy greens," such as spinach and lettuce, are grown.

SALINAS, Calif., July 19 (UPI) - A recent salmonella outbreak has hit California tomato growers hard, with sales plummeting, experts say.
Growers say by the time the U.S. Food and Drug Administration cleared tomatoes Thursday in its investigation of the outbreak, sales had already dipped by 40 percent, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Saturday.
in Santa Cruz, Calif.

By Doug Ohlemeier (July 18, 2:06 pm) As the Food and Drug Administration focused its salmonella investigation on other items, Florida and California tomato

By JENNIFER GISH, Staff writer Mike Ryan, vice president of WF Ryan Produce in Colonie, doesn't want to be one to say "I told you so" when it came to the