MarketMaker Can Help You Find Salmonella-Free Tomatoes
By Michelle Fabio
Although many of you aren’t too concerned about the salmonella scare since you’re careful about your tomato sources, for those who would like even more guidance on where to find safe tomatoes, a website called MarketMaker can help.
At MarketMaker, you’ll find a map that highlights participating states.
From there, you can click on a state and search for businesses and markets of agricultural products, including tomatoes, that have been verified as safe sources.
“The local tomato farmers listed on that site are source-verified, so consumers know where the tomatoes came from and how they were grown,” said Dar Knipe, University of Illinois Extension marketing specialist.
MarketMaker describes itself as “a national partnership of land grant institutions and State Departments of Agriculture dedicated to the development of a comprehensive interactive data base of food industry marketing and business data.”
The site began in 2004 with an Illinois focus but has now grown to include nine other states as well: Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, Nebraska, New York, Kentucky, Ohio, Mississippi and Georgia. Colorado, Washington, D.C., and South Carolina are working on becoming involved.
Note that if you are a tomato grower, there is no charge to be listed on the website.
