Q: I have seen so many headlines saying that vegetables are contaminated with E. coli bacteria. I grow a lot of my own vegetables, and I am wondering how this happens and how to prevent it. Why do commercial farms that have so many ways to protect their product seem to be the worst at this?
A: I am not sure you are right in your premise that big farms have more problems than small farms or people growing produce in their backyard. The big guys will have the recalls that get a lot of attention, but a local farmers market vegetable seller won’t even get a recall. A problem with the food from a backyard garden will probably get blamed on something else and not E. coli on the vegetables.
