AZ tomatoes contaminated

azfamily.com

VIDEO: Salmonella scare
UNCUT: AZ Dept. of Health Services

PHOENIX - Health officials say they're tracking a growing bacterial outbreak in Arizona involving contaminated tomatoes.

Health officials with the centers for disease control say they've found multiple regional cases of food poisoning due to salmonella on fresh tomatoes.

Cases have been spotted in Texas and New Mexico and five of them are here.

Two cases were found in Apache County, and one each in Maricopa, Pima and Coconico.

One person has been hospitalized in Arizona, but no deaths have been reported nationwide.

Ken Komatsu with the Arizona Department of Health said you need to be careful.

"Well we recommend that infants, older adults, elderly persons and those with weakened immune systems not consume these tomatoes,” he said. “Those would be the Roma tomatoes and the red round tomatoes. Other persons who want to reduce their chance of getting salmonella infection should also avoid these tomatoes."

There are some other tips like cooking those tomatoes if you can at high temperatures to kill bacteria.

Don't purchase ones that are bruised or spoiled and wash thoroughly before eating.

Now salmonella is a bacterial disease.    

Officials with the CDC haven't found the source of the bacteria, but the produce could have become contaminated during the growing or the processing phases.