An apple juice manufacturer on the west coast issued a voluntary recall after suspicion that some batches of its unpasteurized apple juice was contaminated with E-coli bacteria. The outbreak affected 50 people, mostly children. Suspected product was removed from over 4,600 retail outlets. Safety and sanitation begins in the orchard. Know where your apples come from and how they were grown if you are buying them in.
Good sanitation improves cider quality and prolongs shelf life.
It will not take many instances of people becoming ill to severely impact the cider business on the state and national level. There is potential for state and federal regulations to require pasteurization of all product, effectively killing the cider business. Don't use animal waste as fertilizer. Harvest when conditions are dry if possible. Use clean and dry containers for storage.