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Locally-grown tomatoes may not be part of the recent salmonella poisoning scare, sickening over 500 people nationwide, but that doesn't mean residents are completely safe.

Most large Ohio tomatoes are not ready to eat this time of year unless they were grown in a hot house, said Brian Theobald, co-owner of Barn-N-Bunk Farm Market in Trenton.

As a result, many markets are importing tomatoes from other areas such as Florida, which officials believe may be a contamination site.

Theobald said his store buys tomatoes from Florida, but received a certificate from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services stating their supply was safe.

"We've had no customers complaining of salmonella poisoning," he said.

However, in Franklin County, Ohio, there have been three reported cases linked to tomatoes contaminated with the salmonella Saintpaul strain, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

In total, there have been 552 cases reported in 24 states and the District of Columbia so far, according to the CDC.

The FDA warns consumers against eating raw tomatoes, including plum, Roma and round red.

The tomato epidemic is not the first the country has seen, but is the largest since an outbreak in 2004 sickened 564 people, said William Marler, a Seattle attorney who specializes in food contamination cases.

Marler has been involved in seven of the last 12 salmonella cases involving tomatoes in the last decade. However, this is the only one that has involved the salmonella Saintpaul strain, he said.

Overall, salmonella outbreaks linked to raw tomatoes are common. The CDC estimates salmonella poisoning from raw tomatoes has sickened as many as 79,000 people in 12 multi-state outbreaks since 1990.

Tomatoes are usually contaminated when salmonella bacteria enter the raw fruit through a puncture in its waxy skin, said David Acheson, the FDA's associate commissioner for foods.

Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2843 or jlander@coxohio.com.

Comment: How has the recent issue with tomatoes and salmonella affected you?