Lemons and poop

You've probably already heard about the tainted lemons in restaurants. If not, read this article:

Stop! Is that poop on your lemon?

The lemon thing I can understand, more or less. I used to tend bar when I was in college. I didn't think much about how I handled the lemons, limes and oranges I sliced. We weren't required to scrub them or disinfect them in any way. Just rinse them off and cut them up to put in drinks later on.

Didn't Odwalla have an issue with e-coli in the '90s? As I remember, they determined that the likely cause was organic fertilizer -- aka: manure. I guess some of the poop is already on fruits and vegetables when they are waxed to make them look more appealing in the grocery store. Doesn't the waxing just lock in any contiminants? How well do you wash your veggies before you serve them? Do you just give them a quick rinse, or do you really scrub? Do those sprays like Citrus Magic really work?

This has totally ruined the fresh fruit garnish thing for me. Can I still squeeze a lime on my fish taco? Or lemon on my lobster? Or eat the orange slice garnish on my plate? I know I'll think twice about it for awhile and say to myself --- Yuck! Gross!

Then I'll tell myself that alcohol will kill the germs and it's a homeopathic dose of bacteria which is good for you. That's true. Isn't it?