A quick Q & A from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on the effectiveness of washing your fruits and vegetables to prevent food poisoning.
Proper handling of fruits, vegetables
Heather Drozd of the Saskatoon Sun reports that vegetables and fruit are well known for their powerful health-protecting benefits. What is less well known, is that these valuable foods can also be sources of food borne illness when they are not properly handled.
Canada’s Food Guide to Healthy Eating recommends eating at least five servings of a variety of vegetables and fruit each day. These foods provide a wide range of plant compounds, known as phytochemicals. Phytochemicals have been shown to protect against many diseases, including heart disease, cancer and stroke.
Bacteria and viruses can contaminate vegetables and fruit and lead to food borne illness. These can come from soil, water and/or handling during harvest and transport. Pesticide residues may also be present.Continue Reading Proper handling of fruits, vegetables
Fresh produce can be hazardous to your health
Leslie Beck of the Globe and Mail reports that if you’re like many health-conscious Canadians, chances are you’re trying to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables. And for good reason — hundreds of studies have linked a high intake of fruits and vegetables to protection from heart attack, stroke, high blood pressure and cancers. But getting your five to 10 servings per day could also be hazardous to your health.
The reason: Fresh fruits and vegetables are being fingered in a growing number of food poisoning outbreaks. Last month, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency advised people in Ontario to avoid eating mung bean sprouts when at least 636 people became ill from eating sprouts contaminated with salmonella. Salmonella food poisoning, or salmonellosis, causes headache, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhea. In young children, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems, it can be deadly.Continue Reading Fresh produce can be hazardous to your health
Vegetables, fruits cause more US food illnesses
Susan Heavey of Reuters reports that contaminated fruits and vegetables are causing more food-borne illness among Americans than raw chicken or eggs, consumer advocates said a in report released on Monday.
Common sources of food illnesses include various bacteria such as salmonella and E.coli that can infect humans and animals then make their way into manure used to fertilize plants. The practice of using manure fertilizer is more common in Latin America, which has become a growing source of fresh produce for the United States.
“Although poultry has historically been responsible for far more Salmonella infections, in the most recent years … produce seems to be catching up,” the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) said, calling for tougher federal food safety standards.Continue Reading Vegetables, fruits cause more US food illnesses
Wash vegetables and fruit to reduce food poisoning
Heather McAvoy of The Daily Herald reports that while vegetables and fruit are well known for their powerful health-protecting benefits, what is less well known is that these valuable foods can also be sources of food poisoning when they are not properly handled.
Health officials recommend eating at least five servings of a variety of vegetables and fruit each day. These foods provide a wide range of plant compounds, known as phytochemicals. Phytochemicals have been shown to protect against many diseases, including heart disease, cancer and stroke.
Food poisoning bacteria can contaminate vegetables and fruit. These bacteria can come from soil, water and/or handling during harvest and transport. Viruses and pesticide residues can also be present.Continue Reading Wash vegetables and fruit to reduce food poisoning