Web Site Helps Buyers in Search of Safe Tomatoes

Posted on: Wednesday, 16 July 2008, 21:00 CDT A recent national salmonella outbreak in some tomato varieties has sent grocery stores, restaurants and tomato product producers scrambling to find sources. One place they've been able to connect with tomato growers is through the MarketMaker Web site. "The local tomato farmers listed on that site are source- verified, so consumers know where the tomatoes came from and how they were grown," said Dar Knipe, University of Illinois Extension marketing specialist. Sandy Shetler manages the Web site. "I received a call from a vegetable farmer in Lancaster, Ohio, who is one of the tomato producers listed on MarketMaker. He had been contacted by someone who needed uncontaminated tomatoes. His tomatoes were just turning green so he referred them to a producer in southern Illinois whose... [read full story]