And yet another outbreak of salmonella. Linked last to tomatoes (or did they decide it was the jalapeños?), and now to alfalfa sprouts (or Brussels sprouts?). Their reactive stance is to recall the product and scare the general population into avoiding all similar products. The unfortunate outcome is that the public becomes more and more fearful of buying and eating whole fresh foods. (You never see an outbreak in Doritos after all, now do you?).
They do try to prevent contamination, but not early enough. Salmonella comes from fecal matter that is infected, which is spread to the food supply. The current way of thinking is that salmonella is inevitable, therefore you just have to be neat and clean. How do we get the cows wash their hands after using the bathroom though?? Very tricky indeed. But what if we could prevent the cows (and people) from getting infected in the first place? Anyone who’s read Michael Polan’s book “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” will understand how the diet we feed most of our cows disrupts their digestive and immune systems so severely, that they are more prone to infections, like salmonella. If we could simply allow cows to feed on grass, in pastures, as nature intended, I postulate that there would be a marked reduction in salmonella outbreaks.
More info on the virtues of grass feeding:
www.eatwild.com
And until Purel hand sanitizer stations are installed in every cow pasture, it would be beneficial to look into finding a real solution.
