How Nuisance Law Can Improve Food Safety

Thanks Professor Timothy D. Lytton – brilliant piece. You set the table for growers and processors of leafy greens to actually do something about the safety of the food they produce – well done.

It is worth the full read.

Foodborne illness is a significant public health problem. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that contaminated food causes 48 million cases of acute gastroenteritis each year, resulting in 128,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths at an annual cost of $15.5 billion. Fresh produce—often considered the healthiest of foods—poses the greatest risk. Contaminated fruits and vegetables sicken more people than any other single category of food. Vegetable row crops account for roughly 60 percent of E. coli O157 illnesses, three times the rate for contaminated beef. Fruits and vegetables are also responsible for foodborne illness outbreaks caused by pathogens such as Salmonella, Listeria, Cyclospora, and norovirus.

Manure from nearby cattle operations is a likely source of the microbial pathogens responsible for some of the most egregious outbreaks. E. coli O157 and other microbial pathogens that cause foodborne illness outbreaks live in the intestines of cattle and are shed into the environment when the cattle defecate. Although these bacteria are harmless to cattle, they are highly toxic to humans. Contaminated cattle feces come into contact with crops that humans eat in a variety of ways. Rainwater runoff and flooding can convey manure from grazing lands or feedlots into irrigation canals or directly into growing fields. Manure stored in lagoons can infiltrate groundwater and pollute wells that serve as water sources for produce farms. Dried manure can create dust that blows onto nearby crops. Flies, birds, rodents, other wildlife, and domestic animals can transport pathogens from manure on grazing lands and feedlots to growing fields. Farm vehicles and field workers can transfer manure on tires and shoes from grazing fields, feedlots, or adjacent roadways onto growing fields. Although this contamination problem originates in cattle operations, the burden of fixing it has fallen on growers and processors.

Full Article: https://www.marlerblog.com/files/2025/09/regulation-fall-2025-4.pdf

Republished with permission from Bill Marler and Marler Clark. Copyright (c) Marler Clark LLP, PS. All rights reserved.