McDonald's, Wal-Mart stop some tomato sales

By Lisa Baertlein

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - McDonald's Corp, Wal-Mart Stores Inc and other restaurant and grocery chains have stopped selling certain tomatoes as U.S. health officials work to pinpoint the source of a Salmonella outbreak.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Saturday warned U.S. consumers that the outbreak was linked to eating certain raw red plum, red Roma, and red round tomatoes, and products containing these tomatoes.

The agency, which first warned consumers about the risk on June 3, has not yet identified the source of the contaminated tomatoes.

As of Saturday, FDA said there had been 145 reported cases, including at least 23 hospitalizations, related to the outbreak since mid-April. The infections were caused by Salmonella Saintpaul, an uncommon type of the bacteria.

Salmonella bacteria are frequently responsible for food-borne illnesses. Symptoms generally appear within 12 to 72 hours after eating infected food and include fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.

Infants, the elderly and those with weakened immune systems are more likely than others to develop severe illness, which can be deadly unless treated with antibiotics.

The FDA has said that it is safe to eat cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes and tomatoes sold with the vine still attached, or tomatoes grown at home.

McDonald's, the world's largest restaurant chain, said on Monday it has temporarily stopped serving sliced tomatoes on its sandwiches in the United States.