Denver Post, CO
09-11-07
Healthy-looking salad may contain deadly bacteria
By Ruth Mantell
MarketWatch
Washington - Danger could be hiding in your dinner salad.
Food most people consider healthy, such as raw sprouts, salad greens, cooked fruit and rice, can pose serious health risks if they are improperly prepared and stored.
Sprouts are considered risky because they grow in a bacteria-friendly moist environment. Outbreaks have involved raw alfalfa and mixed sprouts that were contaminated with salmonella, which can lead to fever, cramps, diarrhea and even death, according to the Food and Drug Administration. Thorough cooking significantly reduces health risks for sprouts, as well as other foods.
Certain people are at greater risk, including young children, the elderly, the immune-compromised and pregnant women, according to Sam Beattie, a food safety extension specialist at Iowa State University.
The bacteria campylobacter, salmonella and E. coli, as well as Norwalk and
Norwalk-like viruses, cause the most commonly recognized food-borne infections, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The
CDC is working on analyses to estimate the number of illnesses each year in the
United States from various foods. Initial reports are expected in 2008.
Consumers may be less familiar with threats posed by improperly cooked or stored fruits and vegetables. Produce can be contaminated at home, or on the farm, by unclean water and by manure used for fertilization, according to the
CDC. Washing produce can reduce your risk, but it doesn't eliminate contamination.
Just a year ago, at least three people died and hundreds were sickened in an E. coli outbreak traced to raw spinach that was grown in California and had been contaminated by cattle feces.
Dr. Rajal Mody, a medical epidemiologist with the CDC, said unpasteurized fruit juices, especially apple cider and juice, have been linked to contaminants such as E. coli and salmonella. Consumers should watch out for unpasteurized juice offerings at roadside stands, even if the juice is from a local farm. There has been an increase in food-contamination outbreaks related to fresh produce in recent years, Mody said.

"The problem with unpasteurized ciders (and juice), especially when apples are picked off the ground, is that the apples that are lying on the ground are going to come into contact with soil, and potentially any animal that is walking by could leave droppings," he said.
The produce items that have been the most frequent culprit foods have been leafy green vegetables, tomatoes and melons, Mody said. Mody added that it's prudent to wash produce, although bacteria can still adhere tightly to products.
Consumers also need to be wary of cooking vegetables and fruits using recipes that add enough moisture to transform the food into a potential bacteria breeding ground.
For example, dry beans are not considered a risky food. But cooking the beans can add enough moisture to create a contaminant-friendly environment, according to Gary Hagy, director of the Virginia Department of Health's food and environmental services division.
"There's a breakdown of the structure of the food, and it has enough moisture in it that it has the ability to support rapid microbial growth," Hagy said.
Temperature control is critical to ensure that cooked produce is safe.
"Once you've cooked these foods cool them down quickly if you're not going to serve them hot. If you're going to serve them immediately, that's fine," Hagy said.
"Keep the cold foods cold."