Recalled tomatoes not Ontario grown

Monday, May 2, 2011

by PAT CURRIE

The Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers (OGVG) moved fast Tuesday to head off any public suspicion that Ontario greenhouse tomatoes were the source of a recent tomato recall due to salmonella contamination.

"We have to move fast," said Richard Lee, operations manager for OGVG, which has 230 growers producing vegetables on almost 800 acres across Southern Ontario, almost all of it west of Chatham-Kent.

The recall was issued Monday by Mastronardi Produce Ltd., a marketing company, advising the public not to consume Field & Farm brand Grape Tomatoes, 1 pint; and, Compliments brand, Santalina Grape tomatoes, 280 grams because they could be contaminated with salmonella. Mastronardi is voluntarily recalling the product.

Lee said quick action was needed to protect Ontario producers because "to the public a tomato is a tomato. They don’t distinguish between a field tomato, a grape tomato and a greenhouse tomato."

Lee said the original supplier of the suspect Florida-grown tomatoes was Six L Packing Company from Immokalee, Florida. They were recalled from stores as far apart as New York and California. Only one shipment reached Ontario.

Tomatoes seem to get the blame even when the source of contamination has not been determined. "In 2009 there was a case involving salsa. Even the food-service industry stopped using tomatoes. The USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) finally pinned the source down as a jalapeno pepper," Lee said.

OGVG General Manager George Gilvesy said Ontario growers face rigid regulations. He urged consumers to look for the "Product of Canada" or "Product of Ontario" labels to ensure they are buying Ontario tomatoes. BF