According to public health officials, tomatoes are probably the source of salmonella outbreaks in Sweden.

Folkhälsomyndigheten (Swedish Public Health Agency) detected 71 infections in 11 counties in the country. Most patients were found in Westre Götaland, Jönköping, Halland and Dalarna.

Victims were recorded in all age groups. Sick 46 women and 25 men. Of all the cases associated with this outbreak, the last known date of onset of the disease was fixed on September 19th.

Local divisions Livsmedelsverket (Swedish Food Agency) and Folkhälsomyndigheten investigated the outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium. Analysis of the bacterial Salmonella genome showed that cases were related and probably had one source.

Folkhälsomyndigheten conducted a case-control study to compare what patients ate a week before infection. The results showed that patients ate more tomatoes than healthy people.

An investigation revealed that tomatoes were bought at supermarkets in late August. But, since they were fresh, the stores no longer had stocks that could be examined. Product tests were performed, but no tomatoes representing salmonella were detected.

Most people infected with Salmonella show symptoms 12–72 hours after exposure to bacteria. These may include diarrhea, fever, abdominal cramps, and vomiting that last several days.