Veggies that sprout diseases

It is there on every packet of salad: "Wash before eating". But how many of us will simply rip open the wrapping and empty the contents into a salad bowl, or tear it into a sandwich without a second thought? Doing so can yield unpleasant result, says the Food Standards Agency (FSA), the British government's advisory body.

Last year, Spanish cucumbers and German bean sprouts made headlines worldwide as being possible sources of a deadly outbreak. A variety of the bacterium E.coli that was pathogenic (capable of causing infection) had killed six people and left almost 300 very ill in Germany.

Most of us are aware of the risk of food poisoning from meat and poultry if they're not properly stored, handled or cooked, but we don't tend to think of vegetables and fruit as posing a risk to our health. FSA chief scientist Andrew Wadge says: "Recent E.coli outbreaks linked with vegetables have shown that handling fresh produce can also spread harmful bacteria".

Yet the FSA's research revealed public complacency. "Perceived risk of food poisoning from vegetables was low, whereas most people questioned were cautions when handling meat," says Wadge.

But really, how much danger can lettuce pose? And besides, doesn't a bit of dirt do us good? "Bacteria are all around us in the environment." says Bob Martin, a microbiologist and food safety expert as the FSA.

"E.coli contamination is normally associated with animal or human feces, which could be present in soil where crops are grown or in water used to irrigate them. It can also result from poor personal hygiene among agricultural workers." Listeria, an unavoidable environmental organism, lives on many plants, feeding on dead plant tissue.

Dead Plant.

"The lettuce we buy in the supermarket is a dead plant," says Christine Dodd, professor of food microbiology at the University of Nottingham. "It it contains listeria colonies, the longer you keep it, the more they'll grow, even in the fridge and irrespective of the use-by-date. So it's best to buy vegetables with the longest shelf life and not to keep them for days before eating."

The very young, pregnant women and those with compromised immune systems, such as people having chemotherapy, would be more likely to get an upset stomach. Today, iceberg lettuces are often grown in soil-free environments. However, this is no protection against contamination. According to Phil Wheat, chief executive of the Society for Applied Microbiology, the risk is from water used for irrigation, not soil. But he adds: "Handlers still need to practice scrupulous personal hygiene."

Thankfully, outbreaks of harmful strains of E.coli are rare, but the FSA says it's essential to thoroughly wash fruit and veg before eating them to protect against any nasties. "When buying salad vegetables, you won't be able to see bacteria, but if a lettuce contain organisms so it needs a really good wash." says Bob Martin. "Most produce in the shops is deceptive because it looks clean. But unless it's labelled 'washed and ready to eat' it must always be thoroughly washed."

The message is clear: the risks may be small, but buy the freshest produce you can and be just as careful preparing salads as when handling and cooking raw meat.

Tips to serving safe salads.

* Wash hands thoroughly before and after handling raw food, including vegetables.

* Keep raw food, including vegetables, separate from ready-to-eat food.

* Use different chopping boards, knives and utensils for ready-to-eat food and raw food, wash them thoroughly.

* To wash vegetables, immerse them in cold water.

Taken from: The Daily Mail (article), Google (images).