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03/21/2008: "Illegal immigrant labor more likely to spread fecal bacteria"

Americans are eating more leafy greens than ever. Consumption rose 9 percent between 1996 and 2005, according to a report issued this week by the Centers for Disease Control. But the bad news is that leafy-green-associated outbreaks of foodborne illnesses went up much more: 39 percent since 1996.

Researchers say they are not sure exactly why the rate of illness has increased more than consumption, but they do note that many foodborne disease outbreaks can be traced to a local food preparation source. Of course, in outbreaks that were widespread, the contamination was likely to have originated at the farm or in the processing plant. (Think of the 2006 recall of spinach due to E. coli contamination that was traced back to the farms where it was grown.)

[ So since 1996 and 2005, what group of workers displaced those who previously did these jobs, to the point where they are almost exclusively the labor force that does this work? Maybe there is some wisdom to domestic labor which is not desperate for income to send back across a border and living in perpetual hiatus. ]

http://www.newsweek.com/id/124262?from=rss