Word has it that they’ve banned fresh tomatoes at the Aspen Food & Wine Classic – a food festival about to start its 26th year. Stay tuned to see whether I get an update. But don’t try to go unless you already have tickets — its been sold out for some time.

As you may have heard, there’s a current out break of salmonella linked to tomatoes — and federal health officials haven’t yet traced the source of those salmonella-tainted tomatoes.

By the way, canned tomato products are safe to eat as salmonella and other pathogens are killed at 145 degrees, according to the National Center for Food Safety & Technology of the Illinois Institute of Technology.