29
Canadians heading out on their lunch breaks today may be surprised to find that one of the most common sandwich staples is no longer on the menu.
Restaurants and fast-food outlets across the country, including Tim Hortons, Subway, Burger King and Harvey's, have stopped using raw tomatoes as the result of a growing outbreak of salmonella food poisoning in the United States.
The move follows an announcement by McDonald's Canada that it would stop serving sliced tomatoes because of fears about possible salmonella contamination.
Since the middle of April, nearly 150 people in at least 16 U.S. states have fallen ill with a rare strain of salmonella after eating raw tomatoes.
Related Articles
Twenty-three were admitted hospital.
Early last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration sent out a warning that advised consumers in Texas and New Mexico not to eat certain raw red plum, red Roma and red round tomatoes, or products containing those tomatoes. On Saturday, that warning was expanded to include the entire United States and officials are racing to find the source of the problem.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has not issued a warning about tomatoes in this country because there have been no reports of infection with salmonella Saintpaul, the straincausing concern in the United States. But that isn't stopping many food companies from pulling the items anyway.
"It's just as a precaution," said Cameron Loopstra, marketing manager for Burger King Restaurants of Canada.
Numerous Canadian food outlets, which include Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut, made the decision to pull raw tomatoes from their menus and put up signs to notify surprised consumers. Many of the restaurants said they purchase tomatoes from a variety of sourcesincluding the United States, and because officials still don't know the source of the problem there, they decided to stop serving tomatoes.
"Tomatoes are a big part of our business," said Rick McNabb, president of Harvey's and spokesman for Cara Operations, which runs Swiss Chalet, Milestone's, Montana's, Kelsey's and Montana's Cookhouse, and also supplies food for several major airlines. "That being said, it just underscores the fact we want to be absolutely prudent in terms of safety."
Some restaurants said they're looking to other sources, including purchasing a greater portion of their tomatoes from Canadian suppliers, in hopes of getting them back on the menu within the next few days.
While Tim Hortons said it believes in the safety of its Canadian supply, the company said it is experiencing "tomato supply issues" as a result of the FDA investigation, which compelled it to remove tomatoes from all of its restaurants yesterday.
"In order to remain consistent throughout the chain, we are not able to offer raw tomatoes until further notice," spokeswoman Rachel Douglas said in an e-mail.
Most customers understand that the problems are related to food-safety issues and are taking the changes in stride - but many people will be happy to see the return of the tomato, according to Subway spokesman Kevin Kane.
"I've heard from some people that are tomato fanatics," he said yesterday. "The underappreciated cucumber may make a comeback, but I don't think anything's going to replace the tomato."
Mr. Kane said the chain is working on plans to purchase tomatoes from suppliers that haven't been implicated in the salmonella contamination, but that it's unclear when the ingredient will return to Canadian restaurants.
Canadian officials are closely monitoring the situation and will update the public if they determine any tainted tomatoes have been distributed in Canada, according to CFIA spokesman Marc Richard.
Although the agency advises consumers to wash produce thoroughly before eating it to reduce the chance of infection, many experts say that washing may not eliminate the possible health risk. That's because the bacteria are often inside the product and can remain even after vigorous washing.
The current outbreak is the latest in a series of large-scale problems with bacterial contamination of produce in recent years, including a major problem with tainted spinach in 2006. The problems highlight the need for greater attention to safe handling practices and farm safety, particularly considering the wide distribution channels of many food producers, according to Mansel Griffiths, director of the Canadian Research Institute for Food Safety.
"I think some of these outbreaks related to spinach and spring onions and melons and tomatoes just highlight the fact that we can do things better," he said.
U.S. officials said consumers can continue to eat cherry or grape tomatoes, or those with the vine still attached. U.S. officials also said they have not identified any contamination in tomatoes grown and harvested in Canada.
