I don't know if it's true, or not, or to what extent ...but, nonetheless it is a story. And it is not a 'Veggie Tale' story ...nor about 'Bob the Tomato'.

One version has the tomato traced back to the early Aztecs ...around 700 A.D.  It is believed that the European explorers were introduced to it around the 16th century.  It also probably didn't help much that the tomato is in the nightshade family, which is a family of plants with a quite undesirable reputation.  

Most Europeans were convinced that the tomato was poisonous ...not realizing that the problem was the way plates and flatware were made for those elite enough to import new delicacies.  Rich people used flatware made of pewter ...having a high lead content.  Foods high in acid, like tomatoes, would cause the lead to leech out into the food, resulting in lead poisoning and sometimes death.

The poor people ate food off of wooden plates ...so they were never concerned, and this especially included the poor Italians.

I am so thankful for the contributions of the Italians...as I like most of their traditional dishes.