Unlike alcohol, which kills bacteria and toxins, Lawrence Goodridge argues, integrating cannabis in the place of alcohol may require a very different production process. “Because cannabis is a plant, there are certain concerns -- like the possibility of pesticides used in production, or the type of fertilizer used, or the potential presence of heavy metals that could be toxic to humans,” the McGill University food safety expert explained to BNN in a telephone interview.

Poultry used to be the usual suspect in cases of Salmonella poisoning. Today, however, most outbreaks of the illness come from fruit and vegetables that have become infected when the soil in which they grow is polluted by animal waste or non-potable water. There currently is no method of reducing the growth of Salmonella on such produce.