Tomatoes banished from fast food outlets

Due to an outbreak of a rare strain of salmonella in the southern United States, several franchises in Whitehorse have yanked tomatoes off their menus.

Due to an outbreak of a rare strain of salmonella in the southern United States, several franchises in Whitehorse have yanked tomatoes off their menus.

By this morning, McDonald’s, Subway, KFC, Quizno’s and A&W had stopped serving tomatoes.

Most local management personnel declined to comment, but some mentioned that customers did not seem upset by the decision, and many consumers were grateful for the precautions being taken.

Tim Hortons restaurants continue to serve tomatoes, and the outlet near the Pizza Hut was filled to capacity this morning.

“Tim Hortons continues to have confidence in our suppliers and product,“ said a posted sign.

“Please be assured that Tim Hortons tomatoes are NOT related to the US outbreak involved raw tomatoes ... As always, we are committed to ensuring the highest standards for our customers.“

As well, the Real Canadian Superstore, Extra Foods and Super A and the Fruit Stand all have their regular selection of tomatoes available, but managers declined to comment nonetheless.

Candy Kent, owner of the Fruit Stand, double-checked with her distributor in British Columbia on Tuesday. She was reassured that there is no danger.

“I eat two or three tomatoes a day, and I’m still here. Still kicking,“ said Joey Imbeau, a Whitehorse local who buys tomatoes from the Fruit Stand.

He said he can understand why the franchises pulled tomatoes off the menu, but think it’s stupid.

“People are scared of everything these days,“ he said.

The outbreak, which began in mid-April, has affected 17 states in the U.S, with more than 150 reported cases.

Salmonella Saintpaul is a rare form of salmonella, and health officials have narrowed the source down to three types of uncooked tomatoes.

Canadian tomato growers and wholesalers aren’t all cashing in on the salmonella scare that’s squeezed selected varieties of American and Mexican tomatoes out of North American restaurants and stores.

A fruit and vegetable wholesaler in Ontario says the tainted tomato outbreak in the U.S. is scaring Canadian consumers and businesses away from the summer staple.

“By today, there was no demand for tomatoes,“ said Lorie Goldfarb, vice-president of Toronto-based Morris Brown and Sons Ltd. Based in the Ontario Food Terminal, it buys and sells fruit and vegetables from Canada, the U.S. and abroad.

Goldfarb said Tuesday the industry is dependent on Florida tomatoes, which, since last weekend, had been on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s list of potential sources of tomatoes contaminated with the salmonella saintpaul bacteria.

“They (Florida tomatoes) were not cleared for salmonella problems. We had every restaurant chain in the country and actually in North America, all food service accounts, all hospitals, schools delisted tomatoes,“ said Goldfarb.

“Everybody took tomatoes off their sandwiches, took tomatoes out of the stores, they’ve really taken a hard press on this.“

Goldfarb said since last Sunday, “a lot of people were so frustrated with tomato products,“ his company started to take tomatoes back from customers.

Late Tuesday, U.S. authorities cleared fresh tomatoes currently being harvested in Florida and all tomatoes grown in California of responsibility in the food poisoning, which has sickened 167 people in 17 states since April.

A 67-year-old Texas cancer patient whom health officials said contracted salmonella at a Mexican restaurant was believed to be the first death associated with the outbreak.

At least 23 people have been hospitalized. But the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said no Canadian illnesses have been reported.

The Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers predicted Canadian producers will benefit because Canada is not on the FDA’s list of areas that may have produced the raw red plum, red Roma, or red round tomatoes suspected in the outbreak.

“Basically it’s law of supply and demand,“ Kristen Callow, general manager Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers, said from Leamington, Ont.

“When people are holding back their product because they haven’t been eliminated as a source, definitely we’re seeing an increased demand for our product because we have not been linked to the source and likely the prices will increase,“ said Callow.

Mary-Margaret Gaye, executive director of the B.C. Greenhouse Growers’ Association, said the salmonella was on field tomatoes. She said greenhouse crops are at less risk because greenhouse vegetable producers across Canada follow strict food safety protocols.

Maureen Sheehan, the marketing director for B.C. Hot House Foods Inc., said from Vancouver her company has been getting calls from the U.S. but there are only so many tomatoes to go around.

“We right now are in a position where most of our product is sold in advance. So we’re not able to take advantage of that,“ said Sheehan.

Sheehan, whose company sells to grocery stores in British Columbia and the U.S. Pacific Northwest, said “most of the Canadian growers are selling into the Canadian market and the Canadian market is stable.“

John Newell Jr. of Windset Farms of Delta, B.C., said he is seeing a mixed result.

“I’ve had some customers say I need more tomatoes to fill the void because I don’t have any field product coming in.

“And other customers are seeing some of their tomato sales drop because it’s not been highlighted that certain regions are not affected by this,“ said Newell, whose farm sells 10,000 tonnes of tomatoes a year to major grocery stores in B.C. and the U.S.

Tom Demma, general manager of the B.C. Vegetable Marketing Commission, said it’s “a tough one to call” on what the lasting impact will be.

“Will there be surplus tomatoes around or will there be a strong demand? I don’t know.“

California growers fear the salmonella scare will have a lasting impact on their livelihoods.

“Even though our tomatoes are safe, we know consumers are going to stay away from our product this year,“ said Jack King, the California Farm Bureau Federation’s national affairs manager.

“The lesson we learned with the spinach E. coli outbreak is that regardless of where the problem exists, it affects all growers.“