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Emilia-Romagna has ordered public and private food-service providers at schools, hospitals and care facilities to stop serving uncooked cherry tomatoes until further notice. Authorities cite Salmonella cases linked to raw tomatoes and say investigations are continuing; the order is precautionary and does not establish that every tomato supply is contaminated.
Authorities in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, have ordered public and private food-service providers at schools, hospitals and care facilities to stop serving cherry tomatoes that have not been cooked. The measure, in force until further notice, follows Salmonella infections linked through investigations to raw cherry and datterini tomatoes in Italy and other European countries, including a UK outbreak linked to tomatoes.
The order covers food-service operations in schools, social care facilities, hospitals and nursing homes, according to the regional notice described by Food Safety News. It applies to uncooked cherry tomatoes and remains in place while investigations continue. Authorities said the action follows the precautionary principle and is intended to protect public health. Providers who breach the order could face prosecution.
Regional surveillance identified 112 Salmonella Strathcona cases and five monophasic Salmonella Typhimurium infections in Emilia-Romagna from 2024 through 2026, amid other reported Salmonella outbreaks. The reported links between cases and tomatoes draw on epidemiological, microbiological or genomic evidence. That evidence connects infections to consumption of raw cherry and datterini tomatoes; it does not establish that all tomatoes, or all products currently in circulation, are contaminated.
A national task force met on September 30, 2026. 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. The source report says more than 160 infections across 10 European countries have been recorded since July 2026, prompting calls for authorities to share outbreak details. These figures describe the reported outbreak situation, not a rate or comparison with an earlier period.
Raw Tomato Restrictions Reach Care Sites
The order affects meals prepared for people who may be particularly vulnerable to foodborne illness, including children, hospital patients and care-home residents. Suspending uncooked tomatoes at these institutions is a targeted way to reduce a possible exposure while investigators work to establish how contamination occurred and which supply chains are involved.
The development also shows how a food-safety investigation can affect providers beyond the area where a contaminated batch is identified. Emilia-Romagna officials said fresh tomato supply chains are difficult to trace, making it harder to identify operators and distribution details. For institutions, that uncertainty means menu changes and compliance obligations may continue until authorities update the order.
The restrictions are not evidence that every tomato sold in Italy poses a risk. The notice concerns uncooked cherry tomatoes in specified food-service settings; the supplied information does not describe a general retail ban or a recall covering all tomatoes.
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European Cases and Earlier Controls
The regional notice referred to outbreak assessments by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and the European Food Safety Authority in 2024 and 2025, alongside notifications through the EU Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed. The investigations span several years and involve two Salmonella types, with authorities using case surveillance and laboratory evidence to examine possible connections to fresh tomatoes.
Emilia-Romagna is not the first Italian region to restrict raw tomatoes in institutional catering. Puglia previously suspended their serving at food-preparation and distribution sites serving nurseries, schools, care facilities and hospitals after Salmonella Strathcona infections rose and Salmonella was detected in a tomato batch from Caltanissetta.
Reported cases have also been recorded in Austria, Germany, Denmark, France, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. Austria reported 21 confirmed and eight probable Salmonella Strathcona cases across seven federal states. Germany’s Robert Koch Institute said it had 39 patients associated with the outbreak since June. In late 2025, Austrian testing detected an outbreak strain in organic cherry tomatoes from Italy; the strain had also been found in irrigation water at a tomato producer in Sicily.
“There are 39 patients associated with the outbreak in Germany since June.”
— The Robert Koch Institute, as reported by Food Safety News
Supply Links Still Under Investigation
Authorities have not identified in the supplied report all producers, distributors or batches responsible for the infections, and the full distribution path remains unclear. Officials specifically cited the complexity of fresh-produce traceability. The evidence described links cases to raw tomatoes but does not show that every case across the countries involved came from the same batch or supplier.
The report also does not provide a complete breakdown of when the Emilia-Romagna cases occurred, how many people were hospitalized, or whether any deaths were reported. It gives no end date for the restriction, which remains in place until further notice. A connection between an outbreak strain and a product or irrigation water is relevant evidence, but the supplied information does not establish the precise contamination route for all cases.
Regional authorities say the measure will remain in place while investigations proceed. Food-service providers covered by the order must avoid serving uncooked cherry tomatoes and comply with the restriction to avoid possible prosecution. The notice described in the report does not specify a review date or the exact conditions for lifting the ban.
Investigators and public-health agencies are expected to continue comparing case reports, laboratory findings and supply-chain records to identify sources and distribution routes. Any changes to the order, including its removal or a narrower scope, depend on further official updates. Until then, institutions and readers should rely on current guidance from their local food-safety authorities rather than assume the restriction applies to every tomato product.
Key Questions
Where does the uncooked tomato restriction apply?
The order applies to public and private food-service providers in schools, social care facilities, hospitals and nursing homes in Emilia-Romagna. It covers cherry tomatoes that have not been cooked.
Does the order ban all tomatoes in Italy?
No. The reported measure concerns uncooked cherry tomatoes at specified institutions in Emilia-Romagna. The source does not report a nationwide retail ban or a general ban on all tomato products.
What prompted the restriction?
Authorities cited Salmonella infections linked through epidemiological, microbiological or genomic evidence to consumption of raw cherry and datterini tomatoes. They described the order as precautionary while investigations continue.
When will the restriction end?
The order remains in force until further notice. The report does not give a review date or say what evidence would be required to lift it.
Have officials identified the source of the infections?
Not fully, according to the information available. Regional officials said complex fresh-tomato supply chains make it difficult to identify the operators and distribution details. The precise sources and routes linked to all reported cases remain unclear.
Source: foodsafetynews.com
