Have you noticed that there seems to an increase in the number of warnings and recalls on various produce products in the past few years due to contamination by various diseases? Here are just a few:

In October 2017:

“A leading vegetable supplier in California, Mann Packing, voluntarily recalled products that might have been contaminated with a harmful bacteria called listeria, the company announced last week.”

In October 2017:

“A New York greenhouse recalled assorted greens due to potential presence of E. coli.”

In April 2018:

A Canadian greenhouse recalled all its microgreen products due to potential contamination of Listeria monocytogenes.

In December 2017:

“In cooperation with Jack Brown Produce Inc., and out of an abundance of caution, ALDI has voluntarily recalled an assortment of apples that were available for purchase in stores starting on December 13, 2017, due to possible Listeria monocytogenes contamination.”

In July 2018: (due to Salmonella)

“Caito Foods recalled their pre-cut watermelon, honeydew melon, cantaloupe, and fruit medley products. Seventy (70) people have been affected across seven states and 34 people have been hospitalized. The FDA said as of July 26 that the outbreak related to melon ‘appears to be over’.”

In October 2018:

“Mary’s Harvest Fresh Foods, Inc., a Portland, Ore. establishment, is recalling approximately 916 pounds of ready-to-eat wrap and salad products that contain a corn ingredient that may be contaminated with Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today.”

To be honest, I’m surprised there hasn’t been many more such warnings and recalls about disease contaminated produce.

Have you ever spent any time around many large commercially owned farms and looked at the conditions and the workers?

In most states, the law requires such farms to provide proper bathroom facilities for the field workers. Consequently, you will see some portable bathrooms parked somewhere along the sides of the fields.

HOWEVER, that doesn’t mean those bathrooms are used all of the time. I’ve watched some of these farms and the workers and I’ve noticed that many them just squat and either urinate or defecate there in the field. They will usually cover it over with a thin layer of dirt to hide it, but the contamination is still there. That also means they don’t wash their hands afterwards, but return to working with or harvesting the produce that you buy at the store.

Many of the large farms are task masters on their field workers. Trips to the portable bathrooms take too much time, especially in the larger fields, so the workers don’t use them. Additionally, if a supervisor sees the same worker making more than the allotted trips to the portable bathroom, it could mean trouble.

Secondly, many large farms hire seasonal migrant workers, many of which can be illegal aliens who don’t have the best of sanitary habits.

After the produce is harvested, it is processed in plants and facilities that also push their workers and again, cleanliness (washing hands after going to the bathroom) can be greatly lacking, because it takes too long or is not part of the culture of the workers.

So, as you fix that fresh and healthy salad for you and your family, think about the hands that have handled it in the field and the hands that handled it in the processing plant and then the hands that handled it at your store.

Yes, that’s why there are so many recalls of disease contaminated produce and it’s surprising that there hasn’t been more.