Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I know these were frozen berries, but speaking of organic generally (and notwithstanding this incident of contamination), one of the problems with organic is that the products often don't "move." They may be pesticide-free, but who knows how long they've been sitting on the produce shelf? That, plus transportation time, greatly diminishes any nutrient value.
These were berries for the cannery (not fresh market) which requires a completely different process and set of guidelines for the pickers.
Lets just say, I'm not surprised at all there was an outbreak.
Food goes through several "owners" before it reaches the supermarket shelf.
And various farms harvests are combined.
Why do you think it takes the FDA so long to trace back the origin of these outbreaks ?
Day workers are long gone by the time the origin is found out.
True - but it's the employer/manufacturer/processor's responsibility to ensure proper sanitation and food handling protocols are followed. If the dayworkers aren't required to have proper documentation and screenings, that's not the dayworker's fault... it's the people who are employing them to save a buck.
As consumers, the best decision is to avoid processed foods that aren't cooked (by you!) before consuming; and to always follow proper proper food handling safety when you process whole foods at home (wash them, store at right temps, etc) especially those that will be eaten raw.
This particular outbreak could have been prevented if the pomegranates were processed in a guaranteed sanitary facility. Fruit and many salad veg are major vectors for foodbourne illnesses because they are processed but not cooked before consuming. Freezing doesn't kill most pathogens, it just slows them down so they don't reach infectious levels; which isn't a great strategy with many viruses because the infectious levels are relatively low compared to many of the bacteria... plus, once you thaw the food, all those microorganisms are free to start up again right where they left off.
So, it's just smart to use the EWA "Dirty Dozen" foods red-flagged for toxins for any raw processed foods as well. Because if they can be easily contaminated by toxins, chances are good they can be easily contaminated with pathogens as well.
if most foodborne illnesses come from fecal matter, how do you stop the exposure when you grow most veggies in fertilizer?? and isnt fertilizer...fecal matter?? and if it rains,,,the splatter goes all over the plants,,??
if most foodborne illnesses come from fecal matter, how do you stop the exposure when you grow most veggies in fertilizer?? and isnt fertilizer...fecal matter?? and if it rains,,,the splatter goes all over the plants,,??
Yes, many fertilizers are (at least originally) fecal matter. However, it's usually aged or composted fecal matter, which reduces the pathogen activity below infectious levels. Nearly all of these microorganisms are naturally present in soil (and water), added fertilizer or not, so you will get some exposure... that's why you're supposed to wash your fresh produce in fresh, clean water before eating it and to prepare and store it properly to avoid the microorganisms multiplying to infectious levels. Just because a microorganism is present doesn't mean you'll automatically get sick from it, unless you have a seriously compromised immune system.
Several foodbourne illnesses & "food poisonings" are commonly caused by naturally occuring microorganisms (not specifically fecal in nature) that reach infectious levels due to poor sanitation and improper handling & storage. I didn't mean to imply that all foodbourne illnesses & food poisoning are only caused feces, just that none are caused or spread by a crop coming in contact with urine in a field. Sorry if that wasn't clear.
Anyway, most fecal/oral foodbourne illnesses are spread person to person, not animal to person. Most microorganisms have a preferred host species, so only a few are naturally transmitted from animals to humans. Untreated raw human feces is not used as a fertilizer in this country, but it is in some other countries (i.e. "night soil"). Some parasites and a few bacteria/viruses can be transmitted from animals, most commonly omnivore & carnivore due to digestive similarities, to humans through feces either as a intermediary hosts (different development stages) or parallel hosts (same development stages). But, in most cases, feces from herbivores fed a natural and species appropriate diet pose little risk to humans when used as a fertilizer if we simply take a few minutes to wash the food items before eating or cooking.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
