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Eat Right and Join the Fight Against Foodborne Bacteria
The Safe Food Chart
FRUITS, VEGETABLES, and JUICES
FOOD SAFETY IMPLICATIONS
Fresh Fruits and Vegetables
Raw fruits and vegetables can become contaminated along the farm-to-table continuum. Produce used for salads - lettuce and spinach, for example - grow low to the ground, where they are likely to come in contact with contaminated fertilizers. Sometimes they’re irrigated with contaminated waters or picked by farm workers with poor hygiene practices.
The complex, multi-layered surfaces of salad produce are more difficult to clean after picking than produce with a smooth surface, such as apples or potatoes. Because fresh fruits and vegetables are usually eaten raw, they can pose a health risk if they’re not properly handled. Therefore, all produce needs to be thoroughly washed and safely prepared and handled before it is eaten.
Fruit and Vegetable Juices
Ninety-eight percent of the juice sold in the United States is pasteurized (heat-processed to kill pathogenic bacteria). The remaining 2% is unpasteurized and may contain harmful bacteria. For example, when fruits and vegetables are fresh-squeezed, harmful bacteria from the outside of the produce can become a part of the finished product. If it’s ingested, children, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems risk serious illness or even death.
HUMAN PATHOGEN ASSOCIATIONS
FOOD SAFETY PRECAUTIONS
(ALL FRUITS, VEGETABLES, AND JUICES)
Fresh Fruits and Vegetables
Fruit and Vegetable Juices
Treated juice consists of shelf-stable juice normally found in non-refrigerated, shelf-stable containers, such as juice boxes, bottles, or cans. It is treated at a much higher temperature than pasteurized juice and is packaged in special airtight containers.
WARNING: This
product has |
FOOD SAFETY PRECAUTIONS
(SPECIFIC FOODS)
Cantaloupe and Other Melons
Any bacteria on the outside of fruits can be transferred to the inside when the fruit is peeled or cut. To prevent this:
Raw Sprouts
(including alfalfa, clover, and radish)
Sprouts that are often served raw as an addition to salads, wraps, and sandwiches are a potentially hazardous food. Often, bacteria get into the seeds themselves through cracks in the shell before the sprouts are grown. These bacteria are nearly impossible to wash out once this occurs.
Thoroughly washing sprouts is no guarantee that you've gotten rid of pathogenic E. coli and Salmonella. Even cooking sprouts is not a solution to potential bacterial contamination.
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Food Safety A to Z Reference Guide
Hypertext updated by dms 2008-JUL-06