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Tomato Industry Seeks Compensation

By Pritzker | Ruohonen

Now that the FDA has discovered a jalapeno that tested positive for the strain of Salmonella Saintpaul that has sickened over 1200 people across the country, the tomato industry is seeking compensation for losses incurred by the outbreak. Investigators originally thought that tomatoes were the source of the outbreak, but no tests ever came back positive for the outbreak strain.  The FDA lifted its advisory on tomatoes, but still maintains that tomatoes may be linked to the outbreak.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Representative Tim Mahoney (D-Florida), has introduced a bill to the House of Representatives that would compensate the tomato industry $100 million, in a way similar to that of disaster assistance.  The amount is based on the number of tomatoes thrown out by retailers and lower market prices during the period that the FDA warned consumers against eating raw tomatoes.  Even though restaurants dumped tomatoes and many consumers refused to eat them, the number of Salmonella cases continued to grow. The FDA now advises against eating raw jalapenos.

According to The Wall Street Journal,

Consumer advocates oppose the bill. Sarah Klein, a staff attorney at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, said the food-industry lobby over the years has weakened federal food-safety oversight, and consumers shouldn't foot the bill now. "We'd like to see the industry focusing on how to prevent these outbreaks for the future to protect consumers and their bottom line," she said.

The bill is being processed in the House of Representatives, with no similar legislation in the Senate.  There is also a time crunch with the coming election in November.  Last year, the House denied a similar bill, one seeking compensation for the spinach industry after the 2006 E. coli outbreak linked to fresh spinach.  The viability of the current bill remains uncertain.

Full post as published by Food Poisoning Law Blog on July 26, 2008 (boomark / email).