Tomato scare squishes producers

SALINAS, Calif., July 19 (UPI) -- A recent salmonella outbreak has hit California tomato growers hard, with sales plummeting, experts say.

Growers say by the time the U.S. Food and Drug Administration cleared tomatoes Thursday in its investigation of the outbreak, sales had already dipped by 40 percent, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Saturday.

"It's a government-made disaster," said Melanie Horwath of the fourth generation of the family that runs Gonzales Packing Co. in California's Salinas Valley where crop losses have reached $2 million.

"The government has a responsibility to only provide facts, not idle speculation. They're going to put us all out of business," Horwath said.

Officials are now probing raw jalapeno and serrano peppers as the possible cause.

"Tomatoes aren't the problem, peppers aren't the problem, cilantro's not the problem, spinach is not the problem," said Allen Hasty, owner of Yellow Wall Farm in Santa Cruz, Calif.

He said the problem is contamination through animal feces, especially when livestock is raised upstream.

"Obviously everyone can't go to a little small farm and buy their food, but I think there really needs to be greater awareness about where the food's coming from and try to keep it really super-local if possible," Hasty said.