A lot of people, including me, are trying to eat and live more of a healthy lifestyle. A big part of succeeding in doing this is learning to eat fresh ingredients and preparing your own meals instead of eating out. Unfortunately, with eating fresh food comes the risk of contamination so it is good to educate yourself on how to properly handle certain foods.
According to the Center for Disease Control, about 48 million are infected by bacteria or viruses from contaminated food! Do not let this happen to you.
Here is a list of 8 common healthy foods and how to clean them to avoid getting sick:
Berries: Most berries can be contaminated from dirty water. Always wash thoroughly and remember that it is always better to buy fruits that are in season and local.
Tomatoes: These are known to carry live Salmonella and get worse when they are left in warm areas. It is best to store tomatoes in the refrigerator just to be on the safe side.
Cheese: Cheese can carry a dangerous pathogen when made from unpasteurized milk. When choosing what kind to purchase, look for some that are made from pasteurized milk and have the least amount of processing.
Potatoes: Much like berries, the potato has a high likelihood of being contaminated during their agricultural processing. Before eating, be sure to wash, scrub and cook all the way through.
Tuna: If you are a lover of sushi, be cautious of this one. If left unrefrigerated for too long, raw tuna can grow a sickening poison. If you purchase tuna raw from the the store, either eat or return it to a cold environment as soon as you can.
Eggs: Like tomatoes, eggs are known to carry Salmonella. Always store eggs in the refrigerator and cook them through as much as you can.
Lettuce: All leafy greens can be contaminated from not being properly handled. Avoid bacteria by rinsing multiple times before consuming.
Raw Meat: E. Coli and Listeria are just a couple of the many bacteria that raw meat can contain. Cook meat and poultry all the way through to avoid getting sick and remember to wash your hands and all surfaces that the meat touches to avoid the risk of cross contamination.
guest
I don’t like this list because its like things to prevent cancer…EVERYTHING can get you sick! I’m not going to be paranoid about everything in my life, just on the off chance that I might contract something.
However, potatoes can also be disease causing if you leave them in the sun and they turn green.
orchid / 197 posts
pasteurization is a type of processing…
guest
@burn_journal@xanga - Cooking, is also a process. So is farming, harvesting, cleaning; yeah, basically everything is processing.
orchid / 109 posts
You can also get Salmonelose from meat (even cooked), and cheese (with raw milk in particular, but it may be a french exception to have this ?).
We have a contamination of E.Coli in soy and cucumber last year, because they use infected cow poo as Grower… and because people cooking meat doesn’t wash their hands while cooking too (or after poo).
guest
Just follow basic food hygiene, don’t eat stuff that’s clearly gone bad and wash your hands. It’s really not that hard. You can do all these things and still get sick.
sunflower / 300 posts
@wildchildofthebluemoon@xanga - Weird, I did not know that. Good to know, as sometimes I leave potatoes near the window in my kitchen!
guest
I am actually quite fond of sushi. Are you saying it is raw tuna then ? I thought it was a different fish ? Φ ≡
hydrangea / 73 posts
I haven’t really heard of salmonella being a bad thing with tomatoes, except for the one outbreak a few years ago where they banned tomato sales.
I remember hearing (and I don’t know if this is true), that melons were actually one of the top culprits for veggie-borne illness; my guess/presumption is that people don’t bother washing them since they aren’t eating the rinds, but then by cutting into them they transfer germs to the edible bits. i.e.
wash all your fruits and veggies like your grandma taught you!
Similar advice goes for eggs; most of the salmonella is on the outside (where the egg comes into contact with chicken nethers), so if you want to use raw eggs (eggnog, cookie dough), and minimize your risk of infection, washing the eggs before use should help.
As for meat, mmm…raw steak and seared tuna!