New Pistachio Salmonella Outbreak Due to Organic Farming Methods

Salmonella is a bacteria that comes from food exposed to feces. The tomato salmonella outbreak last year that cost tomato growers across the country 300 Million bucks in lost income was ultimately traced to a single farm in Mexico growing organic jalapeno peppers and using waste water from a chicken farm to irrigate the crops. Now a new salmonella scare has triggered nationwide recalls, and this time pistachios are the culprit.

The company that produced the poisonous pistachios, Setton Farms, uses organic farming methods, which means that they refuse to use chemicals to prevent poisons and pests from contaminating the crops and they use animal feces as fertilizer instead of engineered mixtures that are free of bacteria.  Also, the farms do not have to be inspected by the US Department of Agriculture.  Any bozo with a license to inspect organic farms can do so in the state of California.

But if salmonella comes from animal poop, how did it get onto the nuts that grow on the trees?  My guess would be that immigrant laborers were picking nuts up out of the mud during harvest.

From Reuters here:

A California pistachio processor issued a nationwide recall of pistachios due to possible salmonella contamination, and U.S. health regulators said consumers should avoid all pistachio products until more information is available.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the California Department of Public Health are investigating the matter.

Salmonella can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.

The recalled nuts were shipped on or after September 1, 2008 by Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella Inc.

American farmers spent 200 years to come up with the technology and processes to produce robust food that is clean and healthy.  Now a bunch of eco-religionists who reject logic and technology would rather risk exposure to deadly diseases and eat inferior produce.