• Los Angeles Times , Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:15 AM

Food safety officials scrambled to reassure consumers that most tomatoes were safe and that search efforts for the origin of the contaminated tomatoes responsible for a rare strain of the microbe called salmonella saintpaul had moved into high gear. It is suspected of causing 145 cases of illness since mid-April.

By Monday morning, McDonald's had joined thousands of other retailers by taking sliced tomatoes off all its sandwiches in its U.S. restaurants. Fresh salsa was suddenly in short supply. Supermarket produce sections were in disarray, and waiters were pressed to explain why certain menu items were unavailable.

The Food and Drug Administration urged consumers to avoid three varieties of tomatoes -- Roma, plum and red round -- which could have been grown in a variety of places. Salmonella can cause fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain, according to the FDA. No deaths have been reported in the recent outbreak.

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