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Austria’s health and food safety authorities have warned people not to eat raw cherry tomatoes from Ragusa and Caltanissetta in Sicily after investigations linked tomatoes to recurring Salmonella infections. Austria has reported 21 confirmed and eight probable Salmonella Strathcona cases; the full source of contamination and the extent of affected tomato distribution remain uncertain.
Austrian health and food safety authorities have warned people not to eat raw cherry tomatoes from Ragusa and Caltanissetta in Sicily after recurring Salmonella infections were linked to tomatoes. Austria has recorded 21 confirmed and eight probable cases of Salmonella Strathcona across seven federal states, according to the Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety (AGES) and the Federal Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection (BMASGPK).
The warning applies to cherry tomatoes originating in the two named Sicilian areas. Authorities said that if tomatoes from those regions are used, they should be thoroughly heated before consumption, rather than eaten raw. The alert does not identify a particular brand, retailer or batch in Austria in the supplied report, so consumers cannot use those details to distinguish affected products.
Among Austria’s reported cases, one person became ill in winter and 28 fell ill from late July. Seven patients were hospitalized. The patients’ median age was 36, with ages ranging from 10 months to 79 years; 17 were male and 12 female. Investigators’ initial interviews point to travel in Italy and tomato consumption as possible exposure factors, but those findings do not establish the source of infection for every patient.
Six Austrian cases were considered likely to have been acquired abroad: five patients had traveled to Italy and one to Croatia before becoming ill. The report also cites Italian findings earlier in October of Salmonella Strathcona and monophasic Salmonella Typhimurium in cherry tomatoes. Italian authorities reported 117 salmonellosis cases in Brescia and 15 in Bergamo, though the source material does not state that every one of those cases was linked to the Austrian warning or to the same tomato supply.
How the Tomato Warning Affects Consumers
The warning matters because tomatoes are often eaten raw, leaving no cooking step to reduce the risk from bacteria that may be present. People who have tomatoes from the specified regions should follow the authorities’ advice and avoid eating them raw; thorough heating is the stated precaution if they are used. The available report does not provide a product recall, lot code or retailer list, so the warning is based on origin rather than a consumer-facing batch identifier.
The health impact is already evident in Austria: seven people required hospital care, and the reported age range includes an infant. The figures also sit within a wider European pattern. They do not, by themselves, show that every illness was caused by tomatoes, but investigations cited by European authorities connect patient interviews, food checks and genetic findings to a suspected common contamination source.
For food businesses and institutional kitchens, the issue extends beyond household purchases. A separate measure in Italy suspended the serving of raw fresh tomatoes at certain institutional catering sites in Puglia, including schools, nurseries and healthcare facilities. That action reflects concern about raw tomato service in settings serving children, patients and people in residential care.
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A Recurring European Salmonella Pattern
The warning comes amid a multi-country investigation into recurring Salmonella infections. Since July 2026, more than 160 confirmed infections in 10 European countries have been recorded, with sequencing results still pending for another 100 patients, according to the source report. Across the longer period from 2023 to 2026, it says 800 people in 17 European countries became ill, including 133 in Austria. These figures cover different time periods and should not be read as a single outbreak total for the current warning.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said the recurrence of cases points to ongoing transmission and distribution of contaminated produce in Italy and beyond. The agency has linked the pattern to a seasonal supply of produce, but the precise contamination route has not been established. Cases have been reported mostly from late summer through December.
There have been earlier signals involving Sicilian tomatoes. In late 2025, AGES detected the outbreak strain in organic cherry tomatoes from Italy. The same strain was also found in irrigation water at a tomato producer in Sicily. These findings add evidence for an agricultural link, but the supplied information does not establish whether that producer, water source or any particular shipment caused the current infections.
Other European responses show how the investigation has reached food distribution. Slovenia’s Food Safety, Veterinary and Plant Protection Administration said it was informed in October that a lot of Italian cherry tomatoes had been delivered to catering companies from Sept. 7 to 9. Checks found the stocks had all been used and were no longer available to consumers through retailers; Slovenia reported no tomato-linked outbreaks there since Sept. 7.
“The risk for new infections remains as long as the seasonal delivery of contaminated produce continues.”
— European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control
The Source and Product Scope Remain Unclear
Authorities have not identified in the supplied report a specific farm, shipment, brand, retailer or batch responsible for the Austrian infections. The warning names Ragusa and Caltanissetta, but the information does not say how many tomatoes from those areas reached Austrian consumers or which products currently on sale, if any, are affected.
The number of infections may also change. More than 160 cases have been confirmed across 10 countries since July, while sequencing results are pending for 100 additional patients. It is not yet clear how many of those patients will be linked genetically to the outbreak strain or whether all the reported illnesses share the same food source. Patient interviews and food investigations support a common-source hypothesis, but do not prove the exposure for each case.
The source material does not give a date for the Austrian warning beyond its October 2026 reporting, nor does it describe a recall or a deadline for the advice. Consumers with a particular tomato product should consult current notices from Austrian authorities or the retailer for product-specific information.
Further Testing and Trace-Back Work
Health and food safety authorities are continuing to investigate the infections and the tomato supply chain. Pending genetic sequencing may help determine which additional patients are part of the same outbreak cluster. Food testing and trace-back work will be needed to establish where contamination occurred and how affected produce was distributed.
For now, the public advice remains focused on origin and preparation: do not eat raw cherry tomatoes from Ragusa or Caltanissetta; if they are used, heat them thoroughly. The supplied report does not announce a specific Austrian recall or identify affected lots. Any further product notices, changes to the warning or confirmed source findings would need to come from the relevant national food safety authorities.
Key Questions
Which tomatoes are covered by Austria’s warning?
The warning covers raw cherry tomatoes from Ragusa and Caltanissetta, two areas in Sicily. The report does not name a brand, retailer or batch.
Can tomatoes from the named areas be eaten if they are cooked?
Austrian authorities said that if cherry tomatoes from those areas must be used, they should be thoroughly heated before consumption. They warned against eating them raw.
How many Salmonella cases has Austria reported?
Austria has reported 21 confirmed and eight probable Salmonella Strathcona cases across seven federal states. Seven people were hospitalized, according to the source report.
Has a specific tomato brand or batch been recalled?
The supplied report does not identify an Austrian recall, brand, retailer or affected batch. It describes a warning based on the tomatoes’ stated regions of origin.
Is the source of the infections confirmed?
No. Interviews, food investigations and earlier tomato and irrigation-water findings support a suspected link to a common source, but authorities have not established the precise contamination route or connected every case to a particular product.
Source: rss
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