Farmers say salmonella scare has hurt tomato sales

"It's like pulling teeth right now trying to move product," he said. "We've been kind of guilty by association in this blunder of an investigation."

Like others in the produce trade, DiMare is critical of the Food and Drug Administration's progress on the investigation.

Officials with the FDA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have said the sheer complexity of the outbreak and the industry's vast international supply chain have hampered efforts to find the sources of contamination.

In April, before the first victim fell ill, federal agriculture authorities visited Florida packinghouses and tomato farms on a special mission to assess food safety conditions.

At a handful of stops near Immokalee--located in one of the domestic regions still considered a possible origin of the outbreak--they found "conditions and practices of concern," including the presence of domestic animals, problems with the water system and poor sanitation, agency officials said.

All facilities corrected the problems immediately and none were deemed "egregious," FDA spokesman Michael Herndon said. Still, officials can't rule out the possibility that the salmonella may be linked to one of those locations.

Red plum, red Roma and red round tomatoes harvested in the area during that period were later shipped out to market, and have yet to be cleared of suspicion. But they also have not been directly tied to the outbreak.

DiMare, who volunteered to lead officials through the company's repacking facility in Ruskin as part of the initiative, said inspectors would be hard-pressed to find traces of salmonella on farms now, weeks after harvest ended. He said authorities found no concerns at his company.

Last week, the FDA suggested tomatoes picked weeks ago could have tainted packing sheds or warehouses that are only now sending their products to market. There's also the possibility that the source itself is still on the market or that a different kind of produce is making people sick.

As farmers' frustration grows, Western Growers, which represents 3,000 growers in California and Arizona, is urging the House Committee on Agriculture to hold hearings on the outbreak.