The U.S. Food and Drug Administration still hasn't announced the source of salmonella-tainted tomatoes that have sickened 228 people in 23 states.

Although Florida has reported cases of salmonella outbreak, the FDA has declared tomatoes grown in Florida are safe and free from salmonella

While the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has still not identified the source of salmonella-tainted tomatoes, the illness toll has jumped to 228 in 23 states, federal inspectors said Thursday.

At the start of the week, 167 cases of illness had been reported in 17 states. States where new cases have been reported are Florida, Georgia, Missouri, New York, Tennessee and Vermont

Restaurant burgers and salads were tomato-less on Monday as fast food chains led by McDonald's took precautions to protect diners against a salmonella infection outbreak blamed on certain tomatoes.

Supermarkets also pulled from shelves tomato varieties that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) suspect as tainted with the uncommon salmonella strain called Saintpaul and probably caused the salmonellosis outbreak in 16 states that has hospitalized 23 people since April 16

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers in New Mexico and Texas not to eat certain types of raw red tomatoes as it could be linked to the recent salmonella outbreak in the area.

Health officials in New Mexico began testing a variety of tomatoes after it received 57 reported cases of salmonellosis caused by Salmonella Saintpaul in New Mexico and Texas from April 23 through June 1. Seventeen people have also been hospitalized

Since 2004, food-related problems in the U.S. that lead to food poisoning continue to rise, says a report from the Centers for Disease Control.

The report, issued Thursday, says the CDC hopes to reduce the incidence of food poisoning by 2010