This week the FDA issued a warning on tomatos across the country, due to a salmonella outbreak that poisoned at least 170 people. The timing couldn't have been less convenient: tomato production is at its peak right now, especially in California, which accounts for a majority of the country's supply.

The rampant fear spurred by those 170 cases was a classic case of paranoia. Many of the states with large, commercial tomato farms were exempt from the FDA's warning, but they still suffered the backlash. California tomato farmers noticed a sharp decline in sales, despite the FDA's assurance that tomatos from that state are safe to eat. Likewise, tomatos from Virginia, Georgia, and several other states were originally deemed perfectly edible.

But -- yes, there's always a "but" -- paranoia is often justified. Since the FDA's initial ruling, Georgia, Florida, Vermont, New York, Tennessee, and Missouri have all reported illnesses in the past few days, thus eliminating them from the FDA's "safe state" list.

Two years ago, when the FDA issued a spinach recall because of an E. coli outbreak, the reaction was swift and universal. Spinach was instantly absent from restaurant menus, grocery stores, and refrigerators. Even in regions where the locals probably had nothing to worry about, the "better safe than sorry" approach overruled any thoughts of Popeye's biceps or mom's dinner table advice to eat your spinach. After all, Popeye wouldn't look so tough suffering from kidney failure, a chief threat of E. coli poisoning.

But the tomato recall has been more conservative, starting with just 17 states on the FDA's list. As of this morning, that number is 23, and we can only expect it to grow.

Of course, there's always a silver lining. For all the gastronomes out there (I despise the word "foodie" or I'd use it instead), this means the potential for more heirloom tomatos, a perennial favorite at green markets and among chefs around the country. These small-batch, organic, old-vine tomatos are what the vegetable/fruit was meant to be: unpredictable in shape and size, colorful, and most of all, packed with flavor. Compare an heirloom to your garden variety red tomato and you'll join the converted, counting the days to when those precious, lumpy pieces of produce make their annual appearance.

But for the time being, unless you frequent gourmet restaurants, you might want to just go buy some multi-vitamin capsules, and ask your waiter to hold the tomato.