US sales of field-grown roma and round red tomatoes dropped nearly 50 per cent in June according to figures released by fresh produce consultancy The Perishables Group. Both varieties were identified by the Food and Drug Administration as being a likely cause of the Salmonella Saintpaul outbreak that has affected more than 1,000 people in recent weeks.
An analysis of 15,000 stores across the US reveal that sales fell 46.1 per cent in volume terms sand 36.2 per cent in value terms in the four weeks ending 28 June. Overall sales in the tomato category were down 17 per cent and 5.4 per cent respectively, with sales of non-implicated varieties – including grape, cherry and vine tomatoes – increasing slightly.
While tomato growers say demand has picked up in recent weeks, they claim it is still 30-40 per cent off normal levels, as are prices. Bryan Silbermann, president of the Produce Marketing Association, said retailers told him three weeks ago that demand was down by as much as 50 per cent but that anecdotal evidence now pointed to a dip of between five and15 per cent.
A consumer poll conducted by the PMA in mid-June revealed that 36 per cent of shoppers surveyed said there were continuing to buy tomatoes at that time, while 29 per cent said they would wait a few weeks, 20 per cent said they would wait a few months and 3 per cent said they would wait at least a year. A further 8 per cent of respondents said they would never buy tomatoes again.
Meanwhile, North America’s largest foodservice company, Sysco Corp, has halted shipments of fresh jalapeño and serrano peppers after the FDA expanded its investigation to include both products last week.
In a move believed to be designed to minimise damage to the pepper market, the FDA has said it does not plan to clear specific growing areas in its pepper traceback investigation as it has done with tomatoes.
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