Although Florida has reported cases of salmonella outbreak, the FDA has declared tomatoes grown in Florida are safe and free from salmonella.
That is good for tomato growers in Florida, and especially in the Gulf Coast Manatee County area, which is one of Florida's primary tomato growing regions shipping tomatoes nationwide.
But the salmonella outbreak has many people around the country turning to locally grown tomatoes. Georgia and South Carolina tomatoes have also been found to be safe.
The outbreak began as early as June 3 when it began sickening consumers in Texas and New Mexico.
FDA officials reportedly said on Friday that the tomatoes that were in use nationwide when the salmonella outbreak began were from Mexico and Florida.
The Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control has declared the outbreak an ongoing problem.
FDA officials say problems with salmonella can result when growers don't follow Good Agricultural Practices by using contaminated agricultural water for irrigation, use of manure, previous use of land or adjacent land, the quality of water used to wash or cool produce after it is harvested, improper sanitation or hygiene of workers, facilities or equipment.
