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Government looking into possible link of organic foods, illness outbreaks

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – Americans will get one last glimpse at a key segment of the U.S. economy before next week’s U.S. election, and the government wants to see if the popularity of organic foods is leading to more foodborne illnesses.

The Labor Department will publish October’s job report Friday morning.

It’s arguably the most important measure of the economy’s health.

The report includes job growth, wages, hours worked, quality of jobs created, among other items.

We expect 175,000 jobs to have been added last month, and the unemployment rate to come in at 4.9 percent.

In other business headlines, the government is looking into a possible link of organic foods and illness outbreaks.

Using CDC’s foodborne disease outbreak surveillance system, researchers identified 18 outbreaks between 1992 and 2014 that were reportedly caused by organic food products.

These outbreaks were linked to 779 illnesses, 258 hospitalizations and three deaths.

The CDC said consumer perception often credits organic foods as being safer than conventionally produced foods, although organic standards do not directly address safety issues such as microbial or chemical hazards.

For more business headlines from Jane King at the Nasdaq, watch Daybreak Monday through Friday.