The recent E. coli outbreak that shut down 43 locations of the Chipotle chain in Washington state and Oregon reminds us of the downsides of organic. For in the push to rid our food of, among other things, preservatives, we tend to forget that the whole point of these additives was to, well, preserve. You feel great that your green onions are locally sourced, pesticide-free, and cultivated by growers paid a living wage, but are they washed as thoroughly as the tomatoes are at the neighboring farm or at (gasp!) a nonorganic facility?
As Julie Jargon of the Wall Street Journal explains,
While the exact source of the contamination in the latest outbreak hasn’t yet been identified, some food-safety experts say the two episodes point up the challenges facing purveyors of fresh food like Chipotle, which has cultivated a loyal following based on its use of preservative-free, locally grown fare. Although other large restaurant chains have experienced foodborne-disease outbreaks, companies whose menus comprise mostly fresh produce grown by relatively small farmers may be more vulnerable, those experts say. “A company like McDonald’s tends to work with large-scale suppliers that have resources of their own to do the types of assessments” that can detect dangerous pathogens, said Craig Hedberg, professor of environmental health sciences at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. “But if you’re working with small, independent farmers, it requires a lot of effort to validate them.” Chipotle has acknowledged in regulatory filings that it could face higher risk of foodborne illnesses because of its use of fresh produce and meats from multiple suppliers cooked with traditional methods rather than automation.
According to Jargon, Michael Doyle of the Center for Food Safety at the University of Georgia "noticed an increase in packaged-food recalls involving products that don’t contain preservatives such as benzoate and sorbate, which can control the growth of harmful bacteria including botulism and salmonella." Doyle adds, "The more we as consumers demand fresh foods that contain less preservatives, the greater the potential risk of harmful microbes being present."
Keep in mind over the years that the nonorganic chains have had more than their fair share of debacles. In 1993, Jack in the Box dealt with an E. coli nightmare (tainted meat) that resulted in hundreds of reported illnesses and four deaths. In 2003, Chi-Chi's (remember them?) served green onions that led to a fatal hepatitis A outbreak in the Pittsburgh area. The point is simply that organic comes with its own perils. We take our chances and should remember to wash those veggies and fruits, even if they were picked in a field free of antibiotics and compliant with fair trade standards.
IN OTHER NEWS: Paper-pulp coasters have been around since the late 19th century. Not much has changed (ever notice the collar variety in Germany, in which the paper wraps around the stem?). And yet people—especially tourists abroad—love to collect coasters from the different pubs they visit. I have my fair share, some of which are proudly beer-stained. But if you're a coaster collector and live in the D.C. area, stop into the Hay-Adams hotel bar, Off The Record. Here you'll find coasters with caricatures of our 2016 presidential contenders and other politicians by the artists Matt Wuerker and Kevin Kallaugher. (Notice Ted Cruz drinking tea while an elephant drinking red wine sits at the bar, looking warily over his shoulder. Marco Rubio, meanwhile, is drinking water, of course.) Request your candidate coaster, imbibe, and keep the coaster! And for the record, I did get some free coasters out of this.
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