Fresh fruit and veggies as vehicles of human pathogens

Mike, not sure if this makes you feel any better, but land-grant (ag) universities and compaines are taking this really seriously. If you look at job openings in horticulture right now, tons of fruit and veggie processors (we're talking for fresh, frozen, and canned) are hiring food safety specialists. Also, a lot of companies like Driscolls, Dole, etc are going to implement or have implemented programs so that they can track where a particular container of say, raspberries, was picked -- down to a specific field on a specific farm. They're also implementing requirements for worker training, irrigation water quality standards, etc, etc, etc.

Just down the hall from me at my university is the food safety extension specialist. It's her job to create "train the trainer" programs, and teach the farm owners about all the food safety protocols, so that they can then train their workers.

So anyway, the "ag world" is taking it seriously and hopefully it'll result in some positive changes!

Some time ago a young guy working in my bldg told me unsettling stories about mushroom growers in SE Pennsylvania. He said that farm laborers there often used the growing fields as latrines because the bosses did not allow them adequate break time. / Old Hat (32 yrs with left-sided UC; presently in remission taking brandname Colazal)