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How salad became a major source of food poisoning in the US

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Re: How salad became a major source of food poisoning in the US

#51
post #42
post #9

Not mentioned is that organic farming doesn't allow irradiation which would kill e-coli. Everybody looks for organic foods thinking they are better but the truth is organic doesn't mean either.

So this is the logo used to show that food is irradiated: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/0c/Radura_intern... This is why I hate big-food. They use any and all opportunities to mislead about what truly is going on.

So what should the logo be? The radioactive trefoil symbol? You'd think that's the most "honest", but that's not an accurate depiction either, because irradiating the food doesn't cause the food itself to become radioactive.

Re: How salad became a major source of food poisoning in the US

#52

Keep things in perspective though. That article mentions 3,000 people per year die from food poisoning, and leafy vegetables are the cause of 1/4 of that, or 750 deaths/year. However, heart disease alone causes 610,000 deaths per year ( https://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/facts.htm ). "Individuals who ate more than 5 servings of fruits and vegetables per had roughly a 20 percent lower risk of coronary heart disease" ( h…

Or just cook your leafy vegetables so both risks are reduced.

Re: How salad became a major source of food poisoning in the US

#53

Not to be graphic here, but when they are picking lettuce where the portable bathroom is - is important. These guys are pushed for time -- and if the potty is too far away... Also, to deal with this, some farms have movable portable bathrooms on wheels that hover over the produce or in between and follow the group, I am sure they leak. https://toddbigelow.photoshelter.com/image/I0000BLSwooXCRac

This is an important part of the equation, and it's unfortunate that the article doesn't go into sufficient detail about the actual mechanisms by which the infection can happen. If anything, the article's mentions of "people are simply eating more fresh produce these days" and "some contamination can still slip through" foster an attitude of helplessness, as if this is a new normal we need to get used to.

Poor living and working conditions for migrant farmworkers is a contributing factor to outbreaks like this. Workers who are present illegally or are otherwise marginalized and taken advantage of, even if they are part of legal guest-worker programs, suffer conditions where poor housing facilities or the need to work under great time pressures leads to inadequate sanitation.

A 2017 story [0] illustrates this:

>Kristina Espinoza, a labor department investigator who recently visited the farm, described a "makeshift labor camp" that was "dangerous" and "unsanitary," according to court documents. [...] Gonzalez had workers shower in nine stalls inside a cargo container; there was no functional sewage system, so wastewater accumulated underneath the container, Espinoza said. The electrical cord used to light the facility was exposed to standing water, posing a risk of electrocution, according to court documents. The workers shared one toilet in the trailer and had access to port-a-potties.

[0] http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-farmworker-abuse-20170...

Re: How salad became a major source of food poisoning in the US

#54
post #47
post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

USDA rules aside, how would you define "organic". It's a rather ... synthetic concept to begin with.

Produced using processes that we've tested for centuries. We're not sure they work, but we're sure they're not ridiculously dangerous. Contrast glyphosate.

>Produced using processes that we've tested for centuries. We're not sure they work, but we're sure they're not ridiculously dangerous.

There's a bunch of stuff that we "tested for centuries" and thought were safe... until they weren't. see: lead, smoking, asbestos, cured meats.

Re: How salad became a major source of food poisoning in the US

#55
post #52

Keep things in perspective though. That article mentions 3,000 people per year die from food poisoning, and leafy vegetables are the cause of 1/4 of that, or 750 deaths/year. However, heart disease alone causes 610,000 deaths per year ( https://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/facts.htm ). "Individuals who ate more than 5 servings of fruits and vegetables per had roughly a 20 percent lower risk of coronary heart disease" ( h…

Or just cook your leafy vegetables so both risks are reduced.

I remember living in China for an extended period of time and never seeing raw vegetables as part of a meal; locals I spoke with found the very concept unsanitary.

It's unfortunate that some are advocating just abandoning chapters of our local cuisine as being no longer viable in our era. I'd rather we more strongly enforce regulations so we can hold onto our salads.

Re: How salad became a major source of food poisoning in the US

#56
post #8
post #5

> Leafy vegetables were also the second most common cause of food poisoning-related hospitalizations. I never quite got to like lettuce. I don't know why people like it. It just doesn't have much taste, its leaves are too big, so have to shove them in awkwardly. I'd rather have a salad with chopped ripe tomatoes, onions / chives, cucumbers, cabbage, etc. Even with those, I often wonder if people don't eat more veggie…

Salad is an excuse to eat dressing.

Yeah, drinking it is way easier /s

Re: How salad became a major source of food poisoning in the US

#57
post #9

Not mentioned is that organic farming doesn't allow irradiation which would kill e-coli. Everybody looks for organic foods thinking they are better but the truth is organic doesn't mean either.

I buy both organic and non-organic produce. I've never encountered irradiated non-organic produce either. I don't know why irradiation isn't more common, but organic certification certainly isn't the prime culprit; most of this tainted lettuce wasn't certified organic in the first place.

Re: How salad became a major source of food poisoning in the US

#58
post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In what way would irradiation make a food not-organic? I believe you, it seems stupid enough to be true.

USDA rules aside, how would you define "organic". It's a rather ... synthetic concept to begin with.

I don't know how I'd define organic... But the on list of disqualifying things - "subjected to a specific wavelength of light for a moment" wouldn't be one of them.

Re: How salad became a major source of food poisoning in the US

#59
post #28
post #19

In South Asian countries, veggies are cooked throughly and that has brought out some exciting dishes. Eating uncooked food is always a risk.

You can also steam them if you don't want the taste to fade away by boiling or frying. But I always appreciate a good curry.

Steaming salad ruins the texture, in my opinion.

Re: How salad became a major source of food poisoning in the US

#60
post #47
post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

USDA rules aside, how would you define "organic". It's a rather ... synthetic concept to begin with.

Produced using processes that we've tested for centuries. We're not sure they work, but we're sure they're not ridiculously dangerous. Contrast glyphosate.

glyphosate has been scientifically tested and found harmless. There are a number of organic chemicals that have been tested to equal (or lesser) standards and found harmful.
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