The surprising reason food recalls are getting worse

While this summer’s spate of foodborne illness is especially bad, the worst may be yet to come. | Wen Tsui/Xinhua via Getty Images Summer is supposed to be the best time for fresh produce.

Corn on the cob at the cookout.

Berries plucked right from the vine.

Salads on the cafe patio while you take an extra long lunch break because the weather and the food is that good.

But this year, summer’s harvest brought something much different than the flavorful dishes we’ve come to expect.

Since May, the United States has seen more than 17,000 lab-confirmed cyclosporiasis cases .

Before this summer’s massive outbreak, the country had never recorded more than a few hundred infections in a single year from this parasite, which can cause watery and at times explosive diarrhea.

And that isn’t the only bug invading Americans’ digestive tracts.

One person died from a listeria infection traced to ricotta cheese.

Close to 100 people came down with salmonella from recalled eggs , while more than 400 people have gotten sick in a separate salmonella outbreak involving jalapeños .

Last week, the Food and Drug Administration issued its highest urgency warning for frozen blueberries believed to be contaminated with E coli .

And now several dozen people across 15 states have become ill after eating alfalfa sprouts in a new outbreak that involves salmonella and E coli.

Four of them have been hospitalized.

It’s gotten so bad that one Washington Post columnist argued we should stop eating lettuce altogether .