The Food and Drug Administration has updated an ongoing recall of tomatoes distributed in three states to its most severe warning, saying there is a higher probability that potential salmonella contamination could lead to “serious adverse health consequences or death.”
It is unlikely that consumers will encounter any fresh tomatoes from the recalled batch, but the bacteria can survive for weeks in dry environments and months in wet ones, such as the freezer, according to the FDA.
The tomatoes, which were sold in packages as small as a three-pack and as large as 25 pounds, were distributed between April 23 and 28 to Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina under the name H&C Farms Label.
They were first voluntarily recalled at the beginning of May for possible salmonella contamination. No illnesses were reported at the time, according to the FDA.
The recall was updated Wednesday to Class I, which the FDA describes as “a situation in which there is a reasonable probability that the use of, or exposure to, a violative product will cause serious adverse health consequences or death.”
The potential source of contamination was not immediately known. Williams Farms Repack, the South Carolina-based firm that distributed the tomatoes, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday. H&C Farms declined to comment on Saturday.
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