Denmark’s Statens Serum Institut has been investigating an outbreak caused by Salmonella Strathcona. This serotype has not previously been detected in Denmark, and it has never before been recognized as the source of an outbreak.

The outbreak included a total of 40 culture confirmed cases registered in the Danish National Laboratory Surveillance System. The cases, 24 females and 16 males, comprised children and grown-ups from all over the country. The first patient became ill on Sept. 4, 2011, and the last on Oct. 14, 2011. During the same period, 14 cases in Germany and one in Austria were reported.

Small, elongated tomatoes of the type datterino have been found to be the source of the infections. The tomatoes, deriving from a producer in southern Italy, have primarily been sold from the supermarket chain, "Rema 1000." The tomatoes are no longer available from the supermarket chain, and the outbreak has most likely now stopped.

Tomatoes have not before been recognized as the source of salmonella outbreaks in Denmark, however, the U.S. has seen several foodborne outbreaks associated with contaminated tomatoes.