The search for the source of salmonella poisoning that sickened more than 800 people in the past two months demonstrates the importance of dealing with several inadequacies in our food inspection system.
To be honest, calling it a "system" is overly generous. In fact, there are as many as 12 agencies with a regulatory finger in the pies and other foods you eat. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, for example, inspects meat and poultry, while the Food and Drug Administration has regulatory authority over about 80 percent of our food, including produce.
safety standards for fresh produce and other raw foods would take tens of millions more. Yet an executive order from President

Thursday the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control declared all types of fresh tomatoes safe to eat, saying they're no longer a salmonella source as once thought. Fresh jalapeño and serrano peppers remain on the warning list, however.
PEPPERS SUSPECTED: Thursday federal health officials declared all types of tomatoes free of salmonella contamination. The investigation now focuses on jalapeño and serrano peppers.
for Salmonella saintpaul:

(CNN) - Tomatoes are again safe to eat, the Food and Drug Administration said Thursday, weeks after the food was blamed as a source of a salmonella outbreak