As germ-laden as your bathroom might seem, there's another room in your house even more likely to make you sick: your kitchen. That's because foodborne illnesses cause 76 million infections -- including 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths -- in the United States every year. Fortunately, most foods are safe and contain only small amounts of microscopic agents that are usually harmless. It's only when these organisms are allowed to multiply through improper handling that they become a problem. Here are some tips on keeping your food safe.
The Claim: All produce needs to be washed before eating.
The Truth: Almost. Anything prepacked and marked “prewashed” -- such as bagged salad or spinach -- should be safe as it is. However, as an extra measure of caution, you can wash this type of produce just before you use it. For produce that’s not prebagged, it’s a good idea to remove the outer layers of leafy vegetables like cabbage and lettuce.
Run everything under running water just before eating, cutting, or cooking. This includes food with peels that you don’t eat, like melons. If the peel is contaminated, slicing through it with a knife will spread the problem to the fruit inside. If the produce has a hard, edible surface, like cucumbers or potatoes, use a produce brush. Dry your produce with a paper towel to wipe away additional bacteria.
The Claim: Organic products decrease your risk of a foodborne illness.
The Truth: There haven’t been enough large studies to determine the relative safety of organic meats or produce. But while consumers may think that organic products like chicken harbor fewer bacteria -- because of less crowding and more natural diets that don’t contain pesticide residue, hormones, or antibiotics -- they may, in fact, be even more susceptible.
Organic farmers typically use manure instead of commercial fertilizers, so crops and animals may have more exposure to bacteria. A study conducted by the USDA reported that while commercial chickens processed from 2000 to 2003 had a Salmonella rate of 9% to nearly 13%, a sample of 53 all-natural chickens had a 25% rate of the bacteria; on one particular organic farm, 60% of the chickens tested positive for Salmonella.
The bottom line is that the safety of an organic product depends on the practices of the farm it comes from, which are impossible to know. If you buy organic meat or produce, take the same food preparation precautions that you would with conventional foods.
The Claim: Buying products that are locally grown cuts your risk of contamination.
The Truth: If you consider anything raised in the United States as local, then possibly. Food and water standards are much higher here than in many other countries. Seafood is required to state its country of origin on the label, and packaged fruits often opt to as well, so you can keep an eye out for products that come from the United States.
As for really buying locally and seeking out produce from small farms in your region, you may cut some risk because the food isn’t processed in large facilities that mix products from many farms. But there are no guarantees that the produce is any safer, as smaller farms contend with the same handling issues as larger farms and factories.
Keep in mind that locally grown food is not necessarily organic. Many of your local farms may use conventional farming techniques— so if you’re buying local to avoid pesticides, ensure that the product is labeled organic, too.
