Fresh Produce And Food Safety

Shopping, Handling, Storing & Cooking Tips

What could be healthier than spinach? The leafy green is chockfull of iron, calcium, vitamin C and fiber. But when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, and the State of California traced the source of the E. coli O157:H7 outbreak that had sickened hundreds of people around the country last September to one farm in Calif., fresh spinach was quickly pulled from supermarket shelves, restaurants stopped serving it and people went through the fridge and tossed bags of salad containing its leaves.

The spinach scare was followed by restaurant tomatoes contaminated with Salmonella Typhimurium and another E. coli outbreak, this time involving shredded iceberg lettuce served by Taco Bell and Taco John restaurants.

After successive food-borne illnesses that sickened hundreds of people, some consumers are left wondering whether it is safe to eat produce. Nutritionists say it is—but make sure to take some commonsense precautions.

Numerous studies show a diet with healthy amounts of fruits and vegetables helps prevent heart disease and diabetes. “We don't have to be scared of eating fruits and vegetables,” says Pat Vasconcellos, R.D., a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. “We just have to be a little more conscientious ... [in] handling them with care.”

“There have always been outbreaks reported for produce,” says Caroline Smith DeWaal, Director of Food Safety at the Center for Science in the Public Interest (C.S.P.I.). “But in recent years, produce is a principle source of outbreaks reported to CDC. ... causing more illnesses than [beef, poultry and seafood].”

Safe At Home

Some people are more susceptible to severe food-borne illnesses than others—sometimes even dying as a result—including the elderly, young children, pregnant women and heart transplant patients or others whose immune systems are compromised. Such people should probably avoid fresh pre-cut or pre-packaged produce, advises Vasconcellos. She also recommends cooking produce instead of eating it raw, and switching to frozen fruits and vegetables.

“All kinds of pathogens can be reduced by proper washing, avoiding cross-contamination with meat, poultry, and clean hands, and proper refrigeration,” says Fight BAC!'s Shelley Feist. “Risk can't be eliminated, but it can be reduced.” Here are her top 10 tips:

Keep It Clean

1. Wash hands with warm water and soap for at least 20 seconds before and after handling produce.

2. Scrub all countertops, knives, peelers and cutting boards with warm water and soap after preparing fruits and vegetables.

3. Rinse fruits and vegetables under running—not standing—water, and scrub those with rinds, even if you plan to peel before eating or slicing. Any bacteria on the outside will get carried inside when you cut into the fruit or vegetable.

4. Don't sterilize fruits and vegetables with bleach —it's toxic.

5. Dry fruits and vegetables with a clean paper towel, instead of a cloth towel, which can harbor bacteria from previous hand-washing and utensil-drying.

Separate and Sanitize

6. Keep produce separate from raw meat, poultry and seafood in the fridge. And when you're thawing raw meat or chicken, make sure the juices can't drip onto produce stashed on the shelf below.

7. Never use the same cutting board for produce and meat—and clean with hot water and soap before and after using the board for meat.

Cook and Chill

8. Cook fruits and vegetables that may have come into contact with raw meat or their juices. Heating (the “kill” step) can eliminate bacteria and viruses.

9. After cutting, peeling or cooking vegetables or fruit, refrigerate within two hours.

10. When in doubt, throw it out!

We all can do a lot to protect ourselves. “Consumers are showing greater levels of awareness about practices like clean, separate, cook, and chill,” says Feist. “Making people aware of how they can reduce illness really does have an impact.”

Be Picky About Picking Produce

The Partnership for Food Safety Education has created the Fight BAC! Campaign to teach fruit and vegetable lovers how to reduce risk of food-borne illness. Some shopping tips to keep in mind from Shelley Feist, the group's executive director:

* Select fruits and vegetables that are intact and whole—pick the prettiest-looking produce you can find because dings and cuts in the peel or shell may allow bacteria on the outside to get on the inside. “Avoid produce that appears damaged or bruised,” says Feist.

* Place meat, poultry and seafood in plastic produce bags before putting these items in your shopping cart—and keep them separated from fresh produce. Ask baggers to keep these foods separate, as well.

* Do not buy any unrefrigerated produce that's been peeled, cut or processed, such as pre-washed salad mixes, chopped broccoli florets or cored and cut pineapple.

* The fixings at the supermarket salad bar should likewise be refrigerated; stay away from any serve-yourself food stations that are not equipped with a “sneeze screen.”