CDC: 228 cases of illnesses related to tainted tomatoes

(CNN) -- The number of illnesses attributed to salmonella-tainted tomatoes jumped to 228, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday.

The CDC found 61 new cases of Salmonella Saintpaul infection in six new states -- Florida, Georgia, Missouri, New York, Tennessee and Vermont.

Infections have now been found in 23 states since mid-April, the CDC said.

Additionally, the agency said that a man in his 60s who died of cancer had a Salmonella Saintpaul infection, but his death has not been attributed to the outbreak.

Several restaurants and grocery stores removed tomatoes from their inventories after reports of the Salmonella outbreak surfaced. At least 23 cases required hospitalization, the CDC said.

Contracting salmonella can cause serious and sometimes fatal injuries, especially in children, the elderly and those with weak immune systems.

Although the origin of the outbreak has not been determined, the Food and Drug Administration has released a warning against raw red plum, red round and red Roma tomatoes from geographic areas it hasn't approved.

After tracing the patterns of salmonella and looking at production and distribution pattern information, the FDA has compiled a list of areas not associated with the outbreak.

The FDA says that eating raw red plum, raw red Roma or raw red round tomatoes is safe if they come from one of 27 states, one of 19 counties in Florida, or from Belgium, Canada, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Israel, the Netherlands or Puerto Rico.

The safe states are Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

The outbreaks in New York, Georgia and Tennessee are not associated with harvested tomatoes in those states, the FDA said.

In Florida, tomatoes from Jackson, Gadsden, Leon, Jefferson, Madison, Suwannee, Hamilton, Hillsborough, Polk, Manatee, Hardee, DeSoto, Sarasota, Highlands, Pasco, Sumter, Citrus, Hernando or Charlotte counties are safe if they come with a certificate from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

Cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes and tomatoes with the vine still attached have not been associated with illnesses, the FDA said.

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