Tomatoes from California have not been implicated in recent outbreaks of illnesses from Salmonella bacteria, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said in a news release Saturday.  The FDA warned consumers nationwide to avoid raw plum, roma and round, red tomatoes, unless they were grown in the following regions: Arkansas, California, Georgia, Hawaii, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennesee, Texas, Belgium, Canada, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Israel, the Netherlands or Puerto Rico. Consumers should contact the store where they bought tomatoes if they don't know where the fruit came from.

Also, consumers should look out for tomatoes in fresh salsa, guacamole, pico de gallo and other dishes. Harvest season in California usually starts in July. Since mid-April there have been 145 reported illnesses from Salmonella serotype Saintpaul, an unusual form of the bacteria. At least 23 people have been hospitalized. California is one of 16 states that have reported illnesses from the outbreak. The California Department of Public Health recommends Californians use caution in selecting tomatoes, based on guidance from the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA has no indication that tomatoes grown in California are associated with this outbreak.