The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared New Mexico, Indiana and the state of Baja California in Mexico as it continues to search for the source of the recent outbreak of Salmonella-contaminated tomatoes.
Baja California is the first Mexican state to be cleared in the investigation, and it joins 37 other states, Puerto Rico and parts of Florida on the agency's safe list. Additionally, six countries, including Israel and Guatemala, have been cleared.
Meanwhile, the Produce Marketing Association (PMA) has urged the US government to increase funding for the FDA to strengthen the body's food safety capabilities in light of the recent scare.
The call comes in the wake of Health and Human Services secretary Michael Leavitt's proposal that the FDA's budget be increased by a further US$275m in 2009.
Bryan Silbermann, president of the PMA, said that the FDA must be given additional resources if it wants to continue protecting the population's health.
'The devastating effect that the ongoing traceback investigation of fresh tomatoes is having on consumer confidence, the tomato industry and the people that rely on it for their livelihoods is all the illustration that we need that the FDA needs more funding to speed up its important work,' he said.
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