**3. Results**

During the monitoring of packinghouses and agricultural fields, a total of 124 samples were collected and analyzed. According to results, *Salmonella* Saintpaul was absent from any of the samples collected regarding its origin.

It is necessary to remark the absence of *Salmonella* in all the samples analyzed corresponding to packinghouses, which implies a strong evidence of the adherence and following to the GAP and GMP of growers from Sinaloa.

The Ministry of Agriculture announced the absence of *Salmonella* Saintpaul in Sinaloa fields supported by the microbiological traceability conducted by federal and CIAD personnel. During the inspection It was also corroborated the good situation of the horticulture in Sinaloa and that tomatoes from Sinaloa have no responsibility for the unfortunate public health problem occurred in the United States. These actions removed the name of México from the list of countries associated to fresh produce involved in the outbreak.

During this season, only 717,000 t of tomato were exported, a 9.6% less than the previous season due to the *Salmonella* Saintpaul outbreak generating an economic impact for the Sinaloa tomato industry worth \$134 million USD losses.

According to United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) 2009, in terms of consumption the tomato is one of the four more consumed fresh produce, as well as potato, lettuce and onion, while in terms of trade, the imports of Mexican tomato represent a strong source of profits. However, this outbreak produced a negative perception for the tomato consumption, not only for Mexican tomato but also to tomato grown in the USA. According to the Center of Agribusiness and Economic Development from The University of Georgia in 2008, the tomato demand decreased significantly during the outbreak, with an average impact of \$11,778 USD per acre for tomato not sold and a total of \$25.7 million USD only for Georgia State.

The economic impact in México caused by the presumptive responsibility of Mexican tomato as transmission vehicle of *Salmonella* Saintpaul promoted the emergence of the Coordinación Estatal de Inocuidad Hidroagrícola, Pecuaria, Acuícola y Pesquera (CEIHAPAP), which is governed by the Stated of Sinaloa to coordinate efforts among producers and scientific institutions for the development of methods to ensure the safety production of fresh produce, free of biological, chemical and physical agents that can represent risks for the consumer´s health.

Results of the absence of *Salmonella* Saintpaul from Sinaloa tomatoes allowed the re-opening of the international trade for tomatoes, helping the economy and strengthening the commercial relationship between México and the United States of America.
