Massachusetts authorities have reported that 5 more cases of salmonella infections have been confirmed in the state. The total number of salmonella cases in the state has now reached 17. According to the figures, four of the new cases come from Suffolk, and one from Middlesex.

The total number of people that have gotten sick after eating the contaminated tomatoes has risen to 800 as of today, but doctors expect more and more people to be identified as infected in the following week. Experts think that the real number of salmonella infection cases is far larger that 800, but some people haven’t been diagnosed either because they haven’t gone to the doctor, or because the DNA test that is capable of linking the cases to the national outbreak hasn’t been done.

Officials have managed to make a list of states that produce tomatoes that are safe to be eaten. If a consumer doesn’t know where the tomatoes he plans to buy were produced, he should avoid buying the raw red Roma, raw red plum and the raw red round types. Tomatoes that have the green vines still attached to them, as well as the cherry and the grape types are safe to be eaten.

Specialists recommend that people who have tomatoes that were bought late May to early June in their refrigerators should throw them, unless they are perfectly sure that they are not tainted. It seems that most of the restaurants have already taken measures to prevent people from getting infected with salmonella from the food they are serving, but if you want to make sure for yourself, you could ask the cook not to put any tomatoes in your dishes.