Emilia-Romagna Bans Raw Cherry Tomatoes as Salmonella Outbreak Spreads

Emilia-Romagna has ordered all public and private foodservice operators to stop serving uncooked cherry tomatoes in schools, hospitals, nursing homes and social care facilities, after regional surveillance logged 112 Salmonella Strathcona cases and five monophasic Salmonella Typhimurium infections between 2024 and 2026.

The regional notice, issued on the precautionary principle, applies until further notice. Breaching the order could bring prosecution. Officials cited the need for maximum public health protection while investigations continue.

What is driving the ban?

Cases of salmonellosis caused by monophasic Salmonella Typhimurium and Salmonella Strathcona were detected across several European countries and multiple Italian regions during 2024, 2025 and 2026. Epidemiological, microbiological and genomic evidence has linked them to raw cherry and datterini tomatoes.

The notice referenced two outbreak assessments — one in 2024, one in 2025 — by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), plus several alerts on the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF), the EU's cross-border food safety notification platform.

Traceability is the core problem. Officials in Emilia-Romagna said the complex structure of fresh tomato supply chains makes it difficult to identify the operators involved and product distribution details. That gap, not any single confirmed source, is what keeps precautionary bans in force.

How wide is the outbreak?

A national task force convened on Sept. 30, 2026. Its experts linked recent outbreaks in Puglia, Lombardy, Lazio and Friuli-Venezia Giulia to fresh tomatoes contaminated with monophasic Salmonella Typhimurium sequence type 34 or Salmonella Strathcona sequence type 2559.

Since July 2026, more than 160 infections have been recorded across 10 European countries.

• Austria: 21 confirmed and eight probable Salmonella Strathcona cases in seven federal states.
• Germany: 39 outbreak-associated patients since June, according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI).
• Also affected: Denmark, France, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden.

Puglia moved earlier. The region suspended raw fresh tomatoes in food preparation centers and distribution points for institutional catering — nurseries, schools, social care and healthcare facilities, residential care homes and hospitals. That decision followed a rise in Salmonella Strathcona infections and detection of Salmonella in a tomato batch from Caltanissetta.

Where has the strain been found?

Two product-side findings anchor the investigation. In late 2025, Austrian testing detected the outbreak strain in organic cherry tomatoes from Italy. The same strain had previously been found in irrigation water at a tomato producer in Sicily.

Neither finding has closed the case. Supply chain complexity still blocks authorities from naming a responsible operator.

What does this mean for operators?

Institutional caterers in at least two regions now face open-ended menu restrictions on a staple produce item. Cooking tomatoes destroys Salmonella, so the orders ban only raw presentation. Suppliers of cherry and datterini lines into school and healthcare channels should expect continued scrutiny until traceability improves or a source is confirmed.

With 160-plus infections still climbing and a national task force now coordinating, further regional suspensions remain the most likely near-term instrument.