When we buy produce at the market in the U.S. we tend to assume that it’s safe for us to eat. Sure, we wash it before eating if it isn’t packaged, but what if the produce you consumed already claimed to be clean and ready to eat? One of our favorite sites Fit Sugar, wrote an interesting article outlining the amount of bacteria on packaged salad. It wasn’t just ANY bacteria. It was bacteria from fecal matter!
This information was drawn from Consumer Reports who tested 208 bags of salad.
found that 39 percent of the samples had traces of fecal contamination. Researchers also found that mixes containing spinach had higher levels of bacteria and that greens tested at least six days before their “use by” date had lower levels of contaminants. Luckily, no traces of deadly pathogens like E. coli or salmonella were found. But still, the thought of cow poo on my baby arugula is totally gross (source).
The last E. coli scare in 2006 wasn’t enough to get people to rinse their salads. Invest in a salad spinner if you have room or just rinse them yourself. This way you can avoid the bacteria and possibly save your life in extreme cases.
AKA
Marilynn Seif says