7 salmonella cases in Cook County linked to tomatoes

Seven salmonella cases in suburban Cook County have been linked to a nationwide outbreak tied to certain types of tomatoes.

The Cook County Department of Public Health and the U.S. FDA are advising that red Roma, raw red plum and raw red round tomatoes, or products that contain these types of raw red tomatoes such as salads, salsas and cold soups not be eaten.

The exception is tomatoes from Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Belgium, Canada, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Israel, Netherlands, and Puerto Rico, which have been shown not to be the source of the outbreak.

Residents who are unsure of where their tomatoes were grown are advised to discard them or contact the store where they were purchased, according to a release from the CCDPH. The warning does not apply to cherry and grape tomatoes, tomatoes sold with the vine attached or home-grown varieties.

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