Wal-Mart and McDonald's have pulled tomatoes from some of their stores in response to an FDA warning about 145 cases of salmonella. The feds have yet to pinpoint the source of the outbreak, but a lot of companies are getting proactive in the wake of problems like the Taco Bell lettuce incident of a few years ago.
Luckily, local tomatoes, especially heirlooms from places like King Farms in Myakka (available at the Brown Groves booth at Sarasota's Downtown Market on Saturdays), are still in season. Buy local, save yourself from 24 hours of hugging the porcelain receptacle.
This article appears in Jun 4-10, 2008.