More people are getting sick from eating fresh fruits

Salmonella, E. coli, shigellosis, hepatitis A, and Norwalk — these food-borne diseases can produce symptoms that run from the mild to life-threatening. The young and old are particularly vulnerable and while consumption of beef and poultry have been the most common sources of such infections, fresh fruits and vegetables are being increasingly implicated in such outbreaks. So much so, that plant disease scientists are now taking a closer look at this issue. “Historically, human pathogens like E. coli and Salmonella have rarely been associated with plants, so plant disease scientists have not looked at them directly,” says J.W. Buck, a plant pathologist at the University of Georgia. But that is changing, says Buck, as such incidences continue to increase.