Salmonella Tomato Alert Hits KFC and Taco Bell

Yum! Brands, Inc., the world’s largest restaurant company, stops using raw tomatoes due to the recent salmonella tomato alert issued by the federal government.

Yum! Brands recently announced that it will stop using raw diced and sliced whole tomatoes in all 50 states for its vast number of restaurants. Initially, the tomato alert only included a couple of states but has now been expanded.

Yum! is a global restaurant company and owns such famous names as Taco Bell, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), Pizza Hut, Long John Silver’s, and A&W. According to the company’s web site, Yum! Brands generated more than $10 billion in revenues for the year 2007.

As a consumer, you have to wonder how places like Taco Bell are going to get around the issue of not having raw tomatoes.

The following safety tips are provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention web site which can be found at www.cdc.gov …

Clinical features of Salmonella Infection

Most persons infected with Salmonella develop diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps 12 72 hours after infection. Infection is usually diagnosed by culture of a stool sample. The illness usually lasts 4 7 days. Although most people recover without treatment, severe infections may occur. Infants, elderly persons, and those with impaired immune systems are more likely than others to develop severe illness. When severe infection occurs, Salmonella may spread from the intestines to the bloodstream and then to other body sites, and can cause death. In these severe cases, antibiotic treatment may be necessary.

Advice to consumers

At this time, FDA is advising U.S. consumers to limit their tomato consumption to those that are not the likely source of this outbreak. These include cherry tomatoes; grape tomatoes; tomatoes sold with the vine still attached; tomatoes grown at home; and raw red Roma, red plum, and round red tomatoes from specific sources listed at: http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/tomatoes.html*. Consumers should be aware that raw tomatoes are often used in the preparation of fresh salsa, guacamole, and pico de gallo, are part of fillings for tortillas, and are used in many other dishes.

Customers everywhere are advised to:

* Refrigerate within 2 hours or discard cut, peeled, or cooked tomatoes.
* Avoid purchasing bruised or damaged tomatoes and discard any that appear spoiled.
* Thoroughly wash all tomatoes under running water.
* Keep tomatoes that will be consumed raw separate from raw meats, raw seafood, and raw produce items.
* Wash cutting boards, dishes, utensils, and counter tops with hot water and soap when switching between types of food products.

Easy Way to Get Safe Tomatoes

Update provided by http://www.BabyBoomerAdvisorClub.com

More Info on the Web…

http://babyboomeradvisorclub.com/salmonella-tomato-alert-symptoms/

http://babyboomeradvisorclub.com/salmonella-tomato-alert-update/

http://babyboomeradvisorclub.com/salmonella-tomatoes-update-by-center-for-disease-control/

http://babyboomeradvisorclub.com/salmonella-tomato-alert-update-mcdonalds-says-no/

http://babyboomeradvisorclub.com/salmonellosissalmonella-tomato-alert-fda-to-identify-tomates/

http://babyboomeradvisorclub.com/salmonella-tomato-alert-update-from-fda/

CDC: http://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/saintpaul/

FDA: http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2008/NEW01848.html