Toxic Tomatoes?

Top 5 Parasitic and Infectious Disease Deaths, U.S. 2005
(not including BUGS deaths coded to “other” by the CDC)
1. Septicemia (included in “Other” worldwide deaths) 32,238
2. HIV/AIDS 12,543
3. Hepatitis 5,529
4. Meningitis 669
5. Tuberculosis 648
Estimates of total U.S. deaths from salmonella, including Salmonella-caused deaths in septicemia death totals, run between 500 and 600 per year whereas CDC coded deaths from Salmonella infections alone totaled only 30 in 2005 and 41 in 2001. Over 75% of all septicemia deaths occur over age 65.
According to research done by Margie Lees, a microbiologist at UGA’s College of Veterinary Medicine (http://www.ovpr.uga.edu/researchnews/9697fw/fatal.html), there is only one type of chicken-borne salmonella that can cause septicemia, a potentially fatal blood disease. So salmonella from tomatoes, or other vegetables, is not too likely to kill anyone and is far less dangerous than a multitude of other BUGS.
According to a 7/4/2008 article in theWashington Post, the latest salmonella scare has tomato crop losses above $100 million dollars. This result could bring on bouts of depression, with far worse consequences than salmonella-caused disease (see suicide stats below).
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/04/AR2008070400638.html)
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/FactSheets/Salmonella_Questions_&_Answers/index.asp