BARFBLOG: My tomatoes are safe ... really, they're local, so they're safe

23.jun.08
barfblog
Doug Powell

Amy and I were at the expecting-a-baby doctor today, and I started
telling her about yet another take on the
my-tomatoes-are-safe-cause-they're-local-so-buy-them story from
Tennessee.
Some locals farmers told Volunteer TV they,
"... even use fertilizer that comes from the ground rather than a store.
Their fertilizers are made up of layers of manure, weeds and hay.
"It helps in killing off the bad bacteria. The worms are working
through, turning it into the pure soils all around. The composting
happens naturally." 
Such statements really need to be verified through microbial testing.
Another farmer said,
"The guinea come through and we let them. They'll walk through the
garden and they don't eat any of the vegetables, they just eat bugs."
The woman beside us in the doctor waiting room said her father used to
have guineas in their garden and it worked real well for bug control.
I pointed out the guineas were also Salmonella factories and would be
increasing the dangerous bug load in the gardens growing that fresh
produce.
She said they used to have chickens at her farm, but got rid of them
cause she got tired of the mess - the poop mess. Then we talked
tornadoes.
But lots of others are still talking tomatoes.
Jeff Wilson, Mississippi State University Extension Service, told local
media that, "locally grown tomatoes are most likely safe," but didn't
say why. Maybe he was misquoted.
Meanwhile, I got to make more friends by telling Forbes that washing off
produce is a good precaution, but won't necessarily safeguard you from a
foodborne illness, nor will only buying locally grown fruits and
vegetables from the farmers' market, 
"At the farm level, produce can be contaminated in a variety of ways,
including contact with untreated manure, infected or polluted water,
workers with poor hygiene habits or unclean storage or transportation
facilities, Powell says. While local farms may use less transportation
and fewer workers, the chances for contamination are still there. And
since fresh produce is, of course, uncooked, anything that comes into
contact with it can taint it. Once E. coli or Salmonella gets inside a
leafy green, tomato or sprout, it's hard to get rid of it."