Bad Tomatoes

Just as i wanted to write up some recipes involving tomatoes, the bad food news hit the wires. As if I didn't have enough anxiety about food (you never know what big corps are putting in there to make me more dependent, obedient ...) or should i say crap coming from factories packaged as food-like substances. I do trust fresh food specially when it's organic or coming from farmer's markets. But now the alarm bells are ringing overseas in the States. And I hear them load and clear. The FDA did a unprecedented recall on tomatoes the fresh red ones, because they could contain a rare strain of Salmonella saintpaul. How did it get their in the first place? Do growers feed their crop on chicken wings? I thought Salmonella were in eggs, meat and preparation that didn't respect the cold-chain and some basic standards of hygiene.

According to the SeatlePI it concerns tomatoes coming from certain states, and certain types of tomatoes. Imports from Europe (yes Belgium and Holland are well known for their sunny climate ideal for tasty tomato growing...) are not blacklisted so I can still eat tomatoes raw and don't have to cook them well done to kill all the bugs, germs and other forms of alien life.

I can see great business opportunities for the aforementioned evil corporations:
Special engineered Salmonella-free crop seeds (with compliments of monsanto) and of course no fresh tomatoes on the market anymore only the factory-processed-kind in sterilised, sanitised, hygienically packed and canned, with gloves and masks for safe consumption. Giving this too cheap staple a more attractive price to please the big supermarkets.(I noticed a 500gr can of tomato puree cost about 90 eurocents, that's too cheap something had to be done about it)
I'm glad to live in France because this Salmonella thing will not be able to pass the border just as radioactivity!


"Cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, tomatoes sold with the vine still attached and homegrown tomatoes are likely not the source of the outbreak, federal officials said.

Also not associated with the outbreak are raw Roma, red plum and round red tomatoes from these states: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, New York, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia.

Imports from Belgium, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Israel, Netherlands and Puerto Rico have been deemed safe to eat.

Canada is also on that list, meaning Seattle-area consumers can continue to enjoy hothouse tomatoes grown in British Columbia."