Editorial logic on sprouts flawed
The Times editors (editorial, Dec. 30) use the recent alfalfa sprouts incident in Illinois to support stronger regulatory authority for the FDA. The logic is flawed.
The “strong epidemiological evidence” isn’t. Based solely on the evidence cited by the editor, one can connect the problem to Jimmy John’s Store. Unless Jimmy John’s Store is the only customer of Tiny Greens Farm, or other consumers of Tiny Greens product were sickened, the evidence does not lead beyond Jimmy John’s Store, and issuing a warning to all Tiny Greens customers can cause irreparable harm to Tiny Greens Farm. It is more likely that the contamination occurred as the sandwiches were made at Jimmy John’s than that the greens were contaminated as they were produced.
It is precisely because of irresponsible behavior like this that the power of bureaucrats needs to be limited, not expanded.
JOHN L. ODOM, Chemist/Microscopist