Stakeholders in the tomato sector in Sicily have defended their products following links to a multi-country outbreak.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said there were 437 confirmed Salmonella Strathcona infections between January 2023 and September 2025. Investigations have consistently pointed to tomatoes as the likely source.
Italy has the most cases with 123, followed by Germany with 113 and Austria with 76.
Salmonella Strathcona was detected in a sample of irrigation water collected at the site of a tomato producer in Sicily, confirming the role of the environment in contamination. Testing of tomatoes has not found the outbreak strain.
“The checks conducted by regional and national health authorities, as well as the data reported in the recent joint report by ECDC and EFSA, have not detected any cases of contamination in tomato samples collected in Sicily. What Salmonella? Sicilian cherry tomatoes are good for your health and they taste delicious,” said Luca Sammartino, Councilor for Agriculture and vice president of the Sicilian region.
Reaction to outbreak link
Sebastiano Fortunato, president of a consortium covering the protected geographical indication (PGI) Pachino Tomato, said no reports of contamination had been received from members.
“If there were a problem of this gravity, we would certainly have noticed it, given that we eat our tomatoes every day. What is certain is that we are crushed every day by unfair competition from non-EU countries that flood Europe with tomatoes at prices unsustainable for the Italian labor system, with regulations that allow the use of pesticides that have been banned in Italy for decades,” he said.
Riccardo Gennuso, Forza Italia member of the Sicilian Regional Assembly, called for more supply chain controls and investment in irrigation water systems.
“The data must be analyzed, but we cannot accept the casting of a shadow over Sicilian tomatoes, the pride of the Sicilian region. Most of the cases are in Austria: that’s where the source of the problem should be sought, not in our fields. In Sicily, where tomatoes are consumed every day, there have been no abnormal peaks in Salmonella.”
Luca Cannata, of the Fratelli d’Italia political party, said: “It’s our duty to maintain the utmost health awareness — as the Minister of Health is already doing — but without fueling alarmism that risks damaging an important sector. The words of Agriculture Minister Francesco Lollobrigida are clear: the cases detected in Europe represent a negligible percentage compared to the millions of consumers, and health checks are continuing with the utmost seriousness.”
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