Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Dirty foods

I came across this article on Yahoo Shine Healthy Living about the 5 dirtiest foods by Sarah Jio, Vitamin G, Glamour Magazine.

Among the top 5 are pre-washed bagged salads which I buy ALL of the time and no I don't re-wash them. I may start now though.

Here is some of the rest of the article:

"Eggs: While most eggs aren't going to make anyone sick, experts estimate that more than 2 million germy eggs (as in Salmonella infected) get into circulation each year, sickening 660,000 people each year and killing as many as 300. Um, maybe we should think twice about eating that cookie dough. How to buy cleaner eggs? Make sure the carton says they're pasteurized and never buy a dozen that contains any obvious cracks or leaks.

Peaches: They're pretty, but that's just skin-deep. Health experts warn that peach skins are doused in pesticides before they make it to grocery store to prevent blemishes. On average, a peach can contain as many as nine different pesticides, according to the USDA. This is one fruit you might want to buy organic (which may have blemishes, but won't have pesticides).



Pre-packaged salad mixes: Surprise! "Triple washed" doesn't mean germ-free say experts. Pathogens may still be lurking so be sure to wash your greens before tossing in your salad bowl.

Melons: Get ready to be grossed out. According to the article, "when the FDA sampled domestically grown cantaloupe, it found that 3.5 percent of the melons carried Salmonella and Shigella, the latter a bacteria normally passed person-to-person. Among imported cantaloupe, 7 percent tested positive for both bugs." Ewww. Your best bet: Scrub your melons with a little mild dish soap and warm water before slicing.

Scallions: Blamed for several recent outbreaks of Hepatitis A, and other bugs like the parasite Cryptosporidium, Shigella and Salmonella, scallions present a food safety problem because of the way they grow (in the dirt) and lack of proper washing. While you can't control what happens in restaurant kitchens, you can give them a super-duper washing at home before cooking with.
Other dirty foods in the article include chicken, ground beef and turkey, raw oysters, and cold cuts.

The bottom line: Don't be afraid to eat these foods, just be aware of the precautions you need to take before enjoying them."

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

The biggest bummer is the bagged greens. It's such a pain to wash and dry them. But completely necessary.

I love the pasteurized eggs though. I like them even better than the store brand eggs, which never tasted very fresh to me.

"Hello... It's Me Again..." said...

Oh that just makes my stomach yucky. I always though triple-washed meant I could just dump salad in the bowl and instantly have clean triple-washed salad for my family to eat. Yucky!!! I'm a germaphobe anyway, so this really eaks me out. :) Thanks, though, for the information. Ewww... cooties.....

 
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