I had the same idea about how the pathogen gets into the food.

It makes sense, but it allows agribusiness, and their apologists in the media, an out. "Those filthy Mexicans! What can you do?!".

According to this story in New Scientist, it comes from animal (not human?) faeces.

Pathogens like Salmonella have probably evolved to cope with life outside our intestines. The deadly Escherichia coli 0157:H7 strain thrives on leafy greens such as spinach and lettuce, while Salmonella tends to do best on fleshier fruits and vegetables.

Plant and animal pathogens really aren't that different, says Warriner. They share many of the same tricks of the trade, including molecular syringes that squirt toxins into cells and "grappling-hooks" that latch onto host cells and don't let go.

The bacteria probably come from groundwater contaminated with animal faeces, he says. Once Salmonella gets on and into a tomato, the fruit acts like an incubator. Bacteria divide even in the cool temperatures of packing houses. "If you get a few samples into the internal tissue, then they will grow for sure," Warriner adds.

I've read reports that chicken/animal manure is sprayed directly on vegetables (sorry no link), and wondered if that could be the source.

I'll make another plug for our rooftop growing project. If you live in the city and don't have any land, it's a great way to avoid bad tomatoes.

"I guarantee in that time frame, more than 1,000 people were injured slipping on a banana peel," said Madonia (tomato sales manager.)

I'm not sure what he meant to say here--is this a bananas versus tomatoes comparison?
(meant to point out that all food is dangerous, downplay the risk from one bad, spreading thing and suggest that we should all ignore what's happening and still do the dangerous thing. Can we make this a general phrase? It would seem useful in politics. Tomatoes can make you throw up but you can fall down on bananas=Be quiet, don't ask for good values and policies, send Obama money, and vote for him in the fall. Er, the banana fall?)

I was glad they mentioned that one person saying they felt safer buying local.

This is a pretty good update. It's always worth looking at the ag people for the facts on food--they know what's going on. I guess what's causing the illness is a pretty rare form, which should, eventually, help track it. It may very well be from people in the field, as you say, and those poor farming management practices are important to stop--but it could be from a fertilizer, too.

FDA has lifted the tomato warning because fewer people are getting sick. WaPo 7/18:

http://tinyurl.com/6cmotd

They're now focusing on jalapeno and serrano peppers and say to stay away from those.

Are you familiar with Hoophouse?

Easy, Inexpensive & Expandable
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And they are expandable to provide more space as you need it.

Protection from Weather and Predators
If you live where there are early or late frosts, winds or heavy rains, you’re in luck. Hoop Houses were made to protect tender plants under these kinds of adverse conditions. Our galvanized steel frame greenhouses were designed by engineers to shield your plants. Go for that blue ribbon or protect your cash flow by keeping your crops safe from Mother Nature’s tricks!

Tired of sharing your vegetables with rabbits and deer? Cover your tasty plants with a Hoop House and encourage the critter to dine elsewhere.

Flexible
Unsure how much greenhouse space you’ll eventually need? A Hoop House is ideal for you. Add 4-foot sections as needed, next season or next year.

Think you might change your mind and want to move your greenhouse in the future? A Hoop House can be relocated to take advantage of crop rotations or to protect a fall garden. Try doing that with a glass house!

Is your property rolling, rather than absolutely flat? A Hoop House greenhouse is wonderfully flexible and can be sited on a gentle incline. And there’s no need to excavate a foundation.

I heard about them on a thread at Pat Meadow's Yahoo Edible Container Gardening group.

We made it out of (mostly) PVC pipe; that's what the hoops are. HOWEVER, we would not make a hoophouse out of PVC pipe again, there are better ways. If we *make* one again, we'd probably use what are called 'stock panels' or'cattle panels'. (The mind boggles at trying to explain these for the UK; it's hard enough to explain them to Americans.)

More likely, we would buy a kit. I know this is in the US, but the UK must have similar kits for sale: www.hoophouse.com And probably the UK has lots of smaller plastic greenhouses too. By the time we bought all the materials for ours, and various reinforcements for snow load that my husband kept adding, we spent just as much as we would have buying a comparably-sized hoophouse at Hoophouse.com. But we didn't know about Hoophouse.com then.

I've never used them, but they look good.

We'd be happy to cross-post some of our stuff. Maybe in a few days.

I just clicked on their prices.

It's those little crawling babies again!! I can NEVER keep the babies out of my jalapeños patch! Like cats to catnip!!

cheapest one is probably a yugo out of the junkyard.

Seriously. A defunct car, with the interior removed -- don't get one that had electric windows when it was alive; and try to get one old enough to have actual "vent" windows! -- is the cheapest greenhouse around.

You can put shelving/benches inside, it's lockable, the windows adjust for ventilation.

What more could you ask?

There are, probably, a few clunkers for sale in your local paper suitable for creating a portable greenhouse. Or you could see what Ebay offers in your 'hood, or craigslist.

What you want is the part between the firewall and the back bumper; if the motor and transmission are already gone, but the rims are still on, bonus: it's portable, lightweight, and doesn't come with a bunch of crap you'll have to get rid of.

Again, you'll want to yank the seats out and leave 'em in the junkyard. But make sure all the glass is in place (it should lack bullet holes or missing fragments) and the latches work.

If the neighborhood land use codes forbid you to keep such a beast in your backyard where anyone can be offended by the sight of it, put up a 'privacy panel' fence around it -- give yourself, and it, 5' or so all the way around (you don't want the doors to swing into the fence).