All too often we hear about people getting ill (sometimes seriously) from one food or another. Sometimes it is from surprising sources such as the 2018 recall of Kellogg’s Honey Smack cereal over concern of Salmonella infections. Now, there may be good reasons for not eating this cereal, such as 16 grams of sugar per ¾ cup serving, but I suspect that most of us do not expect to get a food-borne illness from it. How to keep ourselves safe from these illnesses is the subject of this Cooking Tip.
Often, the foods that make people ill are those we should be trying to eat more because of their health benefits such as fresh fruit & veggies. So, what can you do to prevent these illnesses from hitting you or your family?
It is good to be aware of food recalls or concerns. Our news outlets are pretty good about informing us. Another thing you can do is to sign up for food recalls from the USDA. Here is a link to do that. Be aware, though, that you will get notifications almost every day. Not all of them have to do with possible pathogens. Some of them are due to undeclared allergens or other sources of concern. The large majority of the notifications will not affect you at all.
Just as important, though, is to make sure that the fruits/veggies that you buy are clean before consuming them. The USDA recommends washing your produce under cold running tap water to remove any dirt & reduce bacteria. If there is a firm surface, such as on apples or potatoes, the surface can be scrubbed with a brush. Do not use detergent or soap as these are not approved for use on foods. You could ingest residues from soap or detergent absorbed on the produce. Note that the recommendation is just for plain water. You don’t need any special type of produce spray. If you really want to do more than just plain water, make a mixture of 1 part distilled white vinegar to 3 parts water. This is really not necessary, though.
This same advice applies to fruits/veggies that you are going to peel. You do not want to transfer pathogens from the exterior to the interior of the item with your peeler. So, wash before you peel.
There is a bit of debate over washing pre-washed, bagged greens. Although some recommend washing these items, many others say you are more likely to introduce contamination from your kitchen by doing so. Also, any pathogens left on pre-washed greens are probably so tightly adhered that washing them again in your kitchen is not going to do anything. This is the opinion of the USDA.
It is usually best to wait to wash produce right before consuming it. This is especially true of fragile items such as berries. Following this, proper storage is also important.
Finally, should you be buying organic? As we have seen with some recent recalls, organic produce is not immune from contamination. You may have other reasons for wanting to buy/consume organic produce, but it has been shown that modern methods of cleaning conventional produce result in a product just as clean as organic. For more information on organic produce, see this Tip.
The risk of not eating fresh produce and therefore lacking very important and much needed nutrients is higher than the risk of food-borne illness. Using common sense and the above guidelines should help encourage you to eat fresh and not be scared off by stories of contamination.
Culinary Journeys, LLC 