Salmonella tomatoes reached nine Slovenian restaurants, but no one can find the Metro that sold them

Cherry tomatoes contaminated with salmonella also reached Slovenian restaurants between September and October. In a statement of 12 October, the Food Safety, Veterinary and Plant Protection Administration confirmed that on the afternoon of 9 October it was notified, via RASFF, the EU rapid alert system for dangerous food, of a delivery of a non-compliant batch to Slovenia. The reason for the recall is confirmed monophasic Salmonella Typhimurium, which caused food poisoning in some other member states. According to the administration, the contaminated vegetables were supplied only to businesses, not to ordinary shops.

In Slovenia, according to the administration, the shipment was delivered by the retail chain Metro, which supplies businesses exclusively. Nine Slovenian caterers are said to have received it, between 7 and 9 September. Inspectors called them immediately. Some received the problematic batch, others a different batch from the same supplier, and the caterers had already used up the tomatoes before the inspection.

The administration says it has recorded no disease outbreaks linked to these tomatoes since 7 September. However, on 28 September it received a report from a customer who felt ill after a truffle pizza eaten on 21 September. The Koper regional unit of the NIJZ, the National Institute of Public Health, launched an epidemiological investigation and confirmed salmonella in an open jar of truffle spread (tartufata). The restaurant is said to also have bought cherry tomatoes from Metro, but the customer did not eat them. The results of the analysis of the sealed packs of tartufata are still awaited.

“The problematic tomato was not available on store shelves in Slovenia, so end consumers could not buy it anywhere.” (translated)

Where are the Metro stores in Slovenia? The administration does not say, nor does it state which company in the Metro group supplied the tomatoes. We found no Metro store for caterers in Slovenia. The company Metro d. d. from Celje, which according to the register has a few dozen business units around the country, is the fashion chain Mana. Metro Croatia announced in 2014 that it was starting deliveries to business customers in Slovenia, while the Croatian portal Index.hr writes that companies from Istria and the Croatian Littoral bought tomatoes at the Metro outlet in Trieste. Which Metro supplied the tomatoes to Slovenian caterers therefore remains unknown.

The outbreak in Italy comprises 132 cases. According to RASFF data, 117 are in the province of Brescia and fifteen in the province of Bergamo. Italy recalled the tomatoes from sale on 23 September. According to the Italian Ministry of Health, they are cherry tomatoes from the producer G&V Ortaggi, based in Gela, Sicily. Some Italian media reported that the source of the salmonella was said to be water used to irrigate the crops, but the investigation is still under way.

In Croatia, the State Inspectorate received an urgent notification via RASFF about salmonella in cherry tomatoes from Italy (batch L2852003641/21E005701). According to the distribution list, the tomatoes were not officially delivered to Croatia. A few companies from Istria and the Littoral bought them at the Metro outlet in Trieste. The sanitary inspection established that these are seasonal catering businesses, which are now closed. At one business that is still operating, a different batch of tomatoes from the same supplier was found, but it had already been used up. The inspection received no reports of poisoning, although epidemiologists in the Croatian Littoral have recently nonetheless recorded several people ill with salmonella.