I've heard advice ALL over the map about the safety of animal manure. All the way from being afraid of it until it's been composted very hot for many days, and then aged for many minths, to the other extreme of "yeah, I add it fresh to the veggie patch, just not near harvest" or "turned under" or "not for leafy crops".
The FSMA Act ("Food Safety Modernization") gives ritualistic rules about size of compost heap, minimum hot-compost temperatures and times, post-aging times, record-keeping, assays for microbial content ... how the heck did ANYONE ever survive 50 years ago when such rules were not in force? Shouldn't we all be extinct 20 times over?
My money is on the alleged problem being entirely caused by field hands pooping on their hands as they pick the crops. Or by food processing companies that haven't been inspected since Reagan was president (guessing). Not on cows.
