Do You Wash Bagged Lettuce and Salad Mixes Before Using Them? (News on Why You Probably Should)
Do you wash your bagged lettuce and spinach before tossing up your favorite salad? I know, I know, the bag does say "triple washed," but here's a compelling reason to wash your greens a FOURTH time at home ...
A recent Consumer Reports study found that nearly 40 percent of pre-washed salads (bagged or in clamshells) may be "contaminated with bacteria that could be harmful to your health."
Related: Beware of these 6 calorie bomb salads!
"They did a small study, just over 200 samples, and they found that 39 percent of those samples contained a family of bacteria known as coliform, which is a general indicator for contamination," said "The Early Show" medical correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton. "Twenty-three percent of them contained a bacteria known as enterococcus, which is usually associated with fecal contamination. Not what you want to hear in your produce."
The worst offender among greens, according to the research? Spinach.
Keep eating your greens, of course, but make sure you take these two precautions:
1.) Wash any and all lettuce before eating, and
2.) Make sure it stays cold (bacteria love the warmth)
Do you wash your greens?
P.S. Not to gross you out, but once I found rat droppings (very obvious ones) caked inside a bunch of kale. After that experience, I scrub any and all produce well before eating.
Related: Germs: The Sad Story of The Lemon Wedge in Your Drink
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