I got lox on a bagel this morning with no tomato and frankly it just wasn’t the same. Why oh why did the tomatoes have to get sketchy? Since mid April, there have been 228 reported cases of salmonellosis nationwide caused by Salmonella Saintpaul, an uncommon form of Salmonella. At least 25 hospitalizations have been reported. This week the sick-tomato saga has spread to six more states! Federal health officials acknowledged to lawmakers that they had yet to nail down major aspects of a food-safety plan released seven months ago.

A total of 228 people in 23 states, now including New York, have been reported sickened by salmonella-tainted tomatoes, Dr. David Acheson, associate commissioner for foods at the Food and Drug Administration,

announced. Earlier on Thursday, Dr. Acheson told members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee at a hearing that the agency needed six to eight more weeks before it could provide details about the safety plan’s specific measures, their timetables and their costs.Even then, he said, he was uncertain that he would be able to provide a budget for food safety-related measures that went beyond the next fiscal year.Federal lawmakers, who have pushed the agency for months to specify what it will do to prevent outbreaks of food poisoning and trace the sources of ones that occur, criticized the agency as failing to protect the nation’s food supply. [NY Times]

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