Taco Bell, Wendy's starting to use tomatoes again

Two fast food companies are putting tomatoes back on the menu now that federal health officials have identified tomato crops that are safe from a salmonella scare.

Wendy's International Inc. spokesman Denny Lynch said Tuesday that the hamburger chain began restocking restaurants Sunday with tomatoes from northern Florida. He said some Wendy's locations may still not have tomatoes but should be supplied soon.

Yum Brands Inc. said it also has started to resupply its restaurants with tomatoes from areas that have been cleared of salmonella risk.

Louisville, Ky.-based Yum is the parent company of Taco Bell, KFC, Pizza Hut, A&W and Long John Silver's restaurants.

Yum and Wendy's were among many national restaurant chains that stopped serving tomatoes earlier this month amid a multistate salmonella outbreak linked to raw tomatoes, although there was no connection to the restaurants.

Federal officials said the outbreak sickened 277 people across the country.

Dublin, Ohio-based Wendy's stopped adding tomato slices to its burgers and chicken sandwiches June 9 but continued putting grape tomatoes in its salads because they were not connected to the outbreak.

Burger King Holdings Inc. started restocking its restaurants with tomatoes last week. McDonald's Corp. has said it won't resume serving sliced tomatoes until it's able to obtain enough that meet safety and quality standards to supply the whole chain.