McDonald's stops serving sliced tomatoes as Salmonella outbreak spreads to more states

The Salmonella outbreak linked to raw tomatoes that we reported on last week has now been expanded to seven additional states, spurring fast food giant McDonald's today to stop serving sliced tomatoes in its restaurants until the source of the food poisoning is located.

“This is a precautionary measure only. McDonald’s has not experienced any related issues to date,” the company said in a statement.

In an update issued over the weekend, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said the illness has been found in a total of 16 states including Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.

Since mid-April, there have been 145 reported cases of salmonellosis caused by Salmonella Saintpaul nationwide, including at least 23 hospitalizations, according to the FDA.

The FDA is updating its Web site with the latest information on the outbreak. The agency is also asking consumers to report any problems with tomatoes.