Al Wagner Jr., Texas Agrilife Extension Service food processing specialist, said consumers can guard against salmonella bacteria by thoroughly washing tomatoes.
"What happens is that salmonella is usually on the surface, so a regular wash will get it off and you're good to go," Wagner said. "But if salmonella gets into the wash water at a packing plant, and certain conditions of temperature of the fruit and water are met, then the salmonella can actually enter into the tomato through the end where the stem had been -- or any place the fruit has been punctured."
Hi Lynn, I've been following this pretty closely and was really dismayed to hear about the fact that salmonella can enter the tomato. I thought I'd be fine with just a good washing. I eat a lot of tomatos, guess I'll just take my chances. LindyI LOVE Tomatoes! I knew I should have planted some myself.
maybe it's not too late to get some in the ground, wanttobe!! I can do it if I get it done this weekend.. then I'll have tomatoes at July's end..
Yeah- I tried doing container gardening a couple years but the tomatoes don't do well unless they are in the ground.