Latest food-safety scare hits local growers hard

The national obsession with killer foods began in 1959 with the curious case of cancer-causing cranberries. Scare after scare, many unwarranted, have led to the recent panic over E. coli-infested spinach.

Americans have obsessed over mutant tomatoes, alar-laced apples, mad cows and a host of other consumable killers. With each case of public hysteria, yet another industry takes a financial hit, whether the culprit is limited to specific growers or the remedy to avoid poisoning is close at hand. Fearing public backlash, restaurants and supermarkets shun the offending product.

The cranberry panic began when research revealed crops exposed to the weed killer…