Leafy Greens: The Unsuspecting Culprit in Food Poisoning Should be Washed and Kept Cold!
Since childhood, most people have held the belief, often repeated, that leafy greens (aka “salads”) are the healthiest choice in food. And while there is a great deal of truth to this, from a certain point of view, leafy greens are also a common conduit for food borne illness pathogens like Salmonella, E. coli, Campylobacter, Listeria, certain viruses like hepatitis A, and parasites , like Cyclospora. But recent research has also noted that the propensity to contain or carry such pathogens is not equal among the common leafy greens. In fact, one particular leafy green, romaine lettuce, seems to have been at the heart of a number of significant e. coli outbreaks in recent years while a number of its cousins had had a “clean” record during the same time-frame.
Unfortunately, this is not even a chance. In fact, in a recent study out of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, researcher Mangyi Dong discussed the roll of leafy greens in the spread of e. coli and noted some significant differences. First off, there is the simple fact that leafy greens like kale (or other brassica vegetables such as cauliflower, broccoli, and cabbage), are much less likely to carry e. coli