White spots on tomatoes are caused by hard white and green centers.

What you see is a hard, white area inside a tomato.You could eat it, but it might be hard to digest.The rest of the tomato should be fine.

The tomato probably got too hot.It was in the field, preparing to use the magic ingredient that makes tomatoes red and helps keep people healthy.The tomato had a nice tender texture and was ready to develop a flavor for my salad.Things began to heat up on the farm.

The tomato plant's leaves weren't shading its fruit enough as the sun beat down.Maybe it was too hot.The tomato was probably warmer than 85 degrees.You get those hard white areas when a tomato gets that hot.

This tomato is still a lost cause.The white hard area is in one corner of the slice.The rounded areas on the top of the tomato are most likely to get that excessive sunlight.

While there are no safety concerns in eating this tomato, you will probably not want to eat the white areas as their flavor, texture and nutrition won't be so great.The red areas are fine.You get less salad tonight.

Steve Sargent is a Professor and Extension Post-Harvest Specialist at the University of Florida.

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