Semester 1 Exams
Economics
Business Stats
Japanese
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McDonald's, others stop serving, selling raw tomatoes over concerns about salmonella
CHICAGO (AP) - McDonald's, Wal-Mart and other U.S. chains have halted sales of some raw tomatoes as federal health officials work to trace the source of a multistate salmonella food poisoning outbreak.
Burger King, Outback Steakhouse and Taco Bell were among other restaurants voluntarily withdrawing tomatoes from their menus, following federal recommendations that consumers avoid red plum, red Roma or round red tomatoes unless they were grown in certain states and countries.
McDonald's Corp., the world's largest hamburger chain, has stopped serving sliced tomatoes on its sandwiches as a precaution until the source of the bacterial infection is known, according to a statement Monday from spokeswoman Danya Proud. McDonald's will continue serving grape tomatoes in its salads because no problems have been linked to that variety, she said.
The source of the tomatoes responsible for the illnesses in at least 16 states has not been pinpointed. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said at least 23 people have been hospitalized, and no deaths have been reported.
The Food and Drug Administration warned consumers in New Mexico and Texas as early as June 3 about the outbreak. The agency expanded its warning during the weekend and chains began voluntarily removing many red plum, red Roma or round red tomatoes from their shelves in response.
Tampa, Florida-based OSI Restaurant Partners LLC, which owns and operates eight brands including Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba's and Bonefish Grill, said it stopped serving all raw tomatoes other than grape tomatoes on Saturday evening. The company also instructed its restaurants to discard salsa and other prepared foods containing raw tomatoes.
Miami-based Burger King Corp. said it had withdrawn raw round red tomatoes from most of its U.S. restaurants. The company also removed the variety from all its locations in Canada and Puerto Rico and from some restaurants on other Caribbean islands.
Burger King said some California restaurants were allowed to continue using the tomatoes because they buy from growers in states the FDA has said are not involved in the outbreak.
Orlando-based Darden Restaurants, which owns and operates six brands including Red Lobster and Olive Garden, and Denver-based Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. also said they'd halted serving tomatoes, with Chipotle posting a notice to customers on its Web site that its tomato salsa is temporarily unavailable.
Taco Bell Corp. pulled tomatoes as well, the Los Angeles Times reported. Messages seeking comment were left by The Associated Press for Louisville, Kentucky-based Yum Brands Inc., which owns Taco Bell.
Bentonville, Arkansas-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the largest grocery seller in the United States, repeated a statement Monday that some tomatoes had been removed from its shelves. Wal-Mart initially announced the action Thursday.
The FDA is investigating the source of the outbreak, agency spokeswoman Kimberly Rawlings said.
Rawlings said the FDA's "traceback'' investigations typically look at similarities in illnesses reported to the CDC by state health officials.
Investigators work backward to find the source of the contaminated product.
Salmonella is a bacteria that lives in the intestinal tracts of humans and other animals. The bacteria are usually transmitted to humans by eating foods contaminated with animal feces.
Most infected people suffer fever, diarrhea and abdominal cramps starting 12 to 72 hours after infection. The illness tends to last four to seven days.-AP
!! MY SAY !!
STOP EATING RAW TOMATOES FROM FAST FOOD OUTLETS NOW!!
if the US is withdrawing raw tomatoes,
people back in Malaysia should definitely follow...
lets face it..
fact of the day:
we all know Malaysia has a lower quality control over its food stuff...
or lets hope that the tomatoes dont reach Malaysia
=)
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