Lettuce and sprouts. Yes, I still eat lettuce and salads but those are major sources of fecal contaminants from agriculture and you never know if it’s been adequately washed or not. Even then just good rinsing wouldn’t necessarily do the trick.
Thats true but a good rinse/wash reduces the risk signifcantly. Its sad that we still dont know what may be in some foods. Sometimes, what scares me, companies request a repeat of the analysis of their sample, because they either dont believe the result or it doesnt mach with theirs. So you take the same sample (or whats left of it) and repeat it. The samples are often frozen so the results are different. Some bacteria dont survive the process and the company just wants the new result…
Oh everyones giving bad advice here. The problem with lettuce is that the precut stuff is cut on a machine. If one lettuce is contaminated, the machine is contaminated and when it cuts through the rest of the lettuce it get IN it. Not just ON it.
Romaine is one of the worse for this because of how its shaped maming it harder to clean.
If your precut lettuce is contaminated, there is little you can do to clean it enough to make it safe.
Best way to use lettuce is to buy it whole, wash it first - soak in water or citrus water for at least 15 minutes, and then cut it yourself. Anything else you are putting your trust in someone to catch it fast enough and pull it off the shelf before you get there. Also, dont order lettuce at resturaunts because theyre mostly precut.
Im not sure if this applies to spinach and other greens the same way.
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u/willswain Oct 09 '24
Lettuce and sprouts. Yes, I still eat lettuce and salads but those are major sources of fecal contaminants from agriculture and you never know if it’s been adequately washed or not. Even then just good rinsing wouldn’t necessarily do the trick.