Comments on: Food Safety Still High Risk to Economy http://wewantorganicfood.com/2009/03/25/food-safety-still-high-risk-to-economy/ Organic food information and tips and gadgets for healthier living Wed, 08 Sep 2010 03:00:00 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=We Want Organic Food hourly 1 By: HR 875 not so healthy for food supply? http://wewantorganicfood.com/2009/03/25/food-safety-still-high-risk-to-economy/#comment-9565 HR 875 not so healthy for food supply? Sat, 20 Feb 2010 12:28:19 +0000 http://wewantorganicfood.com/2009/03/25/food-safety-still-high-risk-to-economy/#comment-9565 [...] covered in our Food Safety Still High Risk to Economy, in February 2009, Congresswoman Rose L. DeLauro of Connecticut introduced the Food Safety [...] [...] covered in our Food Safety Still High Risk to Economy, in February 2009, Congresswoman Rose L. DeLauro of Connecticut introduced the Food Safety [...]

]]> By: Diane Vigil http://wewantorganicfood.com/2009/03/25/food-safety-still-high-risk-to-economy/#comment-6318 Diane Vigil Fri, 10 Apr 2009 21:31:54 +0000 http://wewantorganicfood.com/2009/03/25/food-safety-still-high-risk-to-economy/#comment-6318 Actually, WWOF was simply linked to by the NY Times. But it's nice. Actually, WWOF was simply linked to by the NY Times. But it's nice.

]]> By: Lynn Cameron http://wewantorganicfood.com/2009/03/25/food-safety-still-high-risk-to-economy/#comment-6156 Lynn Cameron Thu, 26 Mar 2009 22:27:58 +0000 http://wewantorganicfood.com/2009/03/25/food-safety-still-high-risk-to-economy/#comment-6156 Wow, Jim, thanks for posting this. Perhaps it will get this type of information out where it may get some grassroots action. I don't imagine that this issue is unique to the Salinas Valley, either. Since WWOF has just been written up by The New York Times' editors as a reference for the growing population of folks interested in such things as you write of. http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/subjects/o/organic_food/index.html maybe your info will get widespread exposure. This issue has so many facet spin-offs to it - like dominoes. One that comes to my mind is that animals and humans that might come into contact with these pathogens are, at this point in time, so depleted of nutrients and weighed down by a load of many toxins that the danger in this sewage sludge is even more serious today than it would have been even a few decades ago. Of course, one could argue that it wasn't there at all in the past. For sure, organic farmers/ranchers don't need a single other cross-to-bear. They work 24/7 with even less consideration than teachers get. And, we're pretty much dead without them. Lynn Wow, Jim, thanks for posting this.
Perhaps it will get this type of information out where it may get some grassroots action. I don't imagine that this issue is unique to the Salinas Valley, either.

Since WWOF has just been written up by The New York Times' editors as a reference for the growing population of folks interested in such things as you write of. http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/subjects/o/organic_food/index.html maybe your info will get widespread exposure.

This issue has so many facet spin-offs to it – like dominoes. One that comes to my mind is that animals and humans that might come into contact with these pathogens are, at this point in time, so depleted of nutrients and weighed down by a load of many toxins that the danger in this sewage sludge is even more serious today than it would have been even a few decades ago. Of course, one could argue that it wasn't there at all in the past.

For sure, organic farmers/ranchers don't need a single other cross-to-bear. They work 24/7 with even less consideration than teachers get. And, we're pretty much dead without them.

Lynn

]]> By: Jim Bynum http://wewantorganicfood.com/2009/03/25/food-safety-still-high-risk-to-economy/#comment-6144 Jim Bynum Wed, 25 Mar 2009 19:18:19 +0000 http://wewantorganicfood.com/2009/03/25/food-safety-still-high-risk-to-economy/#comment-6144 Politicians talk about food safety, even talk about enacting laws. However, as long as they keep allowing partially treated sewage to be used for irrigation of vegetables in the Salinas Valley there is still going to be foodborne ourbreaks. California rules state no sample of irrigation water shall exceed a coliform level of 240 MPN/100 ml. You are not told that coliform is the name of the test for the 2,400 E. coli, Salmonella, Shigella, etc. per liter of irrigation water. Now there are also 40 miles of irrigation pipe in which bacterial biofilms may form. When the pipes are bumped, or caused to vibrate with a water surge, biofilms may break loose and there is another foodbrone outbreak and the Salinas Valley farmers lose another 100 million dollars, plus the court cost. They will continue to suspect cattle rather than admit treated sewage might have been involved. The other side of the coin is that sewage concentrate, better known as sludge or biosolids, are dumped on farms as fertilizer for food crops and grazing land with unknown levels of E. coli, Salmonella, shigella, etc. The reason the pathogen levels are unknown is that the elevated temperature fecal coliform test will only show E. coli, Salmonella, Shigella, klebsiella, etc. that grow or multiply at 112.1degF. That eliminates most bacteria that only grow well in the temperature range between 77 and 104degF. While the high temperature test injure bacteria and prevent growth in the test, the bacteria in the sewage concentration continue to happily multiply and you have infected cattle and crops ----- with more foodborne outbreaks Politicians talk about food safety, even talk about enacting laws. However, as long as they keep allowing partially treated sewage to be used for irrigation of vegetables in the Salinas Valley there is still going to be foodborne ourbreaks. California rules state no sample of irrigation water shall exceed a coliform level of 240 MPN/100 ml. You are not told that coliform is the name of the test for the 2,400 E. coli, Salmonella, Shigella, etc. per liter of irrigation water. Now there are also 40 miles of irrigation pipe in which bacterial biofilms may form. When the pipes are bumped, or caused to vibrate with a water surge, biofilms may break loose and there is another foodbrone outbreak and the Salinas Valley farmers lose another 100 million dollars, plus the court cost. They will continue to suspect cattle rather than admit treated sewage might have been involved.

The other side of the coin is that sewage concentrate, better known as sludge or biosolids, are dumped on farms as fertilizer for food crops and grazing land with unknown levels of E. coli, Salmonella, shigella, etc.
The reason the pathogen levels are unknown is that the elevated temperature fecal coliform test will only show E. coli, Salmonella, Shigella, klebsiella, etc. that grow or multiply at 112.1degF. That eliminates most bacteria that only grow well in the temperature range between 77 and 104degF. While the high temperature test injure bacteria and prevent growth in the test, the bacteria in the sewage concentration continue to happily multiply and you have infected cattle and crops —– with more foodborne outbreaks

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