With the crop-growing season starting up soon and farmers’ markets opening for business, you may be wondering whether it’s safe to eat vegetables and berries grown on farmland in areas that experienced flooding.
The director of the Agricultural Alliance of New Brunswick Mike Bouma believes there won’t be any issues with consuming these products.
“Nature has an amazing way of flushing itself out,” says Bouma, “so I believe within a matter of months, it should clear itself up, for sure.”
A news release from the Department of Health, however, says in terms of commercially grown produce, it’s way too early to predict what steps will be necessary.
Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Jennifer Russell’s immediate concern has to do with eating wild, edible plants like fiddleheads that may have been exposed to floodwaters.
Health officials say they’re committed to working alongside the Department of Agriculture to do a further review and assessment of possible impacts to croplands.