Bill seeks to compensate tomato growers

WASHINGTON, July 25 (UPI) -- The tomato industry is seeking compensation for losses incurred after a salmonella outbreak prompted the U.S. government to issue a tomato warning.

Rep. Tim Mahoney, D-Fla., has introduced a bill to establish a $100 million fund for tomato producers and shippers that would work much like disaster relief, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

On June 7, the Food and Drug Administration issued a warning to consumers that involved certain tomato types, leading to a drop in prices from about $20 a box to $5 a box, the report said.

The industry claims that tomatoes were not the cause of the salmonella outbreak in which 1,270 became ill.

After the warning was issued many restaurants threw tomatoes away and demand plummeted. Some farmers plowed tomato fields under when the price fell too low to justify harvesting their crops.

The bill assigns the Department of Agriculture the task of deciding who qualifies for compensation, the Journal reported.