LITTLE ROCK —Two people in Arkansas have contracted the salmonella food poisoning recently linked to certain raw tomatoes and affecting residents now in 17 states.

Officials with the Arkansas Health Department said the agency was investigating the possible source of the Salmonella Saintpaul illness in Arkansas.

Arkansas tomatoes have not been associated with the outbreak, and state Agriculture Secretary Richard Bell said the two people who came down with the illness contracted it before the tomato harvest began in the state.

According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 167 people have contracted Salmonella Saintpaul since mid-April.