Stopping
salads being deadly eafy greens and uncooked
• in the refrigerator or from counters and
vegetables bring with them a
cutting boards (through cross-contami-
high risk of food poisoning.
nation with harmful bacteria from raw
They are implicated in about
meat, poultry or seafood).
20% of reported cases of
Despite the frequency of vegetable-
illness caused by foodborne
related illnesses, they are not the most
pathogens in the US. Being eaten raw,
harmful — this dubious honour belongs to
the produce preparation does not include
poultry. In the US, the largest proportion of
a kill step, such as exposure to the high
deaths from foodborne illness, one in five,
temperatures experienced during cooking,
was due to poultry.
that reduces the risk of live pathogen contamination.
So, how can we ensure that the salads and uncooked vegetables, which add fresh-
Leafy greens do not naturally contain
ness and appeal to many ready meals and
bacteria that can make consumers sick but
catering menus, do not end up making our
the leaves can become contaminated because
customers sick?
they are grown close to the ground. Con-
Washing hands thoroughly with warm
taminated leafy greens have been linked to
water and soap for at least 20 seconds,
cases of food poisoning caused by Salmonella
before and after handling leafy greens, and
and E. coli, and most commonly, norovirus.
following proper cleaning techniques can
Leafy greens can become contaminated
help avoid cross-contamination and prevent
in the field by: • soil,
the spread of food poisoning. The produce should be washed under
• contaminated water,
fresh, cool running water but should not
• animals,
be left to soak in tubs of water. The bacte-
• improperly composted manure.
rial load needed to cause disease is often
They can also be contaminated by bacteria: • during and after harvest from handling, storing, and transporting;
www.preparedfood.com.au
quite high but consumers can become ill after eating just 10 E. coli. This presents a particular problem for leafy greens grown in soils fertilised with manure which is
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PREPARED FOOD - Oct/Nov 2015 | 41