Animal source

All the reporting on salmonella in tomatoes omits the salient fact that the source the FDA is looking for is an animal source, probably either people or livestock. There is a vanishingly small chance of a wild source with reptiles the chief suspect in that case.

The media also failed to note from the beginning that last summer's fresh spinach, contaminated by E. coli, was tainted by an animal source. Of course, once the finding was confirmed, they did report it, but it was obvious before.

I suspect that the FDA scientists soft-pedal this knowledge out of deference to the industries they regulate. Especially under Republicans, the inmates are running the asylum.