People who emphasize vegetables and fruits in their diet do not want to hear negative information about greens. Yet, we know that occasionally we hear about plant foods, particularly Romaine lettuce, being recalled. Even though leafy greens appear to make more people sick than many other foods, the overall chance of getting food poisoning from them is extremely low. “There is generally a high level of safety around these food items, so we don’t want consumers to view these outbreaks as a reason not to eat fresh fruits and vegetables,” says Matthew Wise at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Here are Consumer Reports’ suggestions on “The safest ways to eat salad.”
- Cook your greens until wilted. This solution only works for greens such as spinach, kale, collards, and Swiss chard.
- Consider buying whole head lettuce. Even though whole heads of lettuce are not labeled “washed,” their inner leaves aren’t exposed to as many sources of contamination as bagged greens.
- Keep packaged lettuce cold and eat it soon. Don’t buy more than you can eat in a few days. If a few leaves look damaged, slimy, or bruised, don’t eat any greens in that package.
- Consider buying hydroponic or greenhouse-grown greens. These are less likely to be contaminated by bacteria from animal droppings in the soil or water.
- Soak your greens in vinegar. Microbiologist Carl Custer says that soaking greens in a vinegar solution will reduce bacteria levels, but won’t kill all bacteria. Douse greens in white vinegar and let them sit for 10 minutes, then rinse. Expanded information on this list can be found on page 37 of the March 2020 Consumer Reports.