Is it really necessary to wash salad leaves?

[skeggijon]

Apparently, unwashed salad leaves are a significant cause of food poisoning.

[Greenleaves]

Rarely wash, Strawberries are just as likely to be affected and dont wash those. I would rather eat a catapiller than all those chemicals farmers spray

[Guest]

Apparently, unwashed salad leaves are a significant cause of food poisoning.

That tends to be the shop bought sealed pack stuff and even the washed is a problem , as the bags create the perfect environment for the bacteria to thrive. Also at pence for seed and pounds for shop bought mankey leaves why would you do it?

[skeggijon]

The research I saw (admittedly Australian), said that all fresh vegetables needed to be washed - whether shop bought or homegrown, due to the risk of E-coli and listeria, not to mention Enteroviruses.
Animals wander around produce doing what animals do, plus there are a number of long lived soil bourne viruses.
It was also made a big thing of when I took my grade three food hygiene certificate.

[Alison]

The research I saw (admittedly Australian), said that all fresh vegetables needed to be washed - whether shop bought or homegrown, due to the risk of E-coli and listeria, not to mention Enteroviruses.
Animals wander around produce doing what animals do, plus there are a number of long lived soil bourne viruses.

I remember reading an article about this, not sure if it was the same one but the one I saw came over as somewhat hysterical scare mongering, a bit like the stories that come out every December about Christmas dinner being the most dangerous thing in the world and that we're all going to set fire to our houses and get food poisoning. Not happened to anybody I know and I'm totally prepared to take the risk

[BertieFox]

Apparently, unwashed salad leaves are a significant cause of food poisoning.

May be true with commercially produced salad leaves, but that is because of human handling with insanitary conditions; you never know where the pickers' hands have been before they touch the leaves. As for home grown stuff, washing freshens them up, but if they are clean I would never bother. I often pull radishes from the ground and just brush the soil off with my fingers before eating them straight away.

But I HAVE seen the dog lifting his leg on other salad crops outside the polytunnel, so better safe than sorry!

[Penellype]

I wash anything picked from outdoors, but not things grown in the house. We have several cats round here which spray liberally on just about everything, and use the nice soft beds as litter trays. Cat poo is really not nice stuff to have anywhere near food.

[Guest]

The research I saw (admittedly Australian), said that all fresh vegetables needed to be washed - whether shop bought or homegrown, due to the risk of E-coli and listeria, not to mention Enteroviruses.
Animals wander around produce doing what animals do, plus there are a number of long lived soil bourne viruses.
It was also made a big thing of when I took my grade three food hygiene certificate.

I love these researchers, I wish I had been the one that got paid for being able to say that cornflakes go soggy when you put milk on. I am being serious, it was some years ago but there was someone who researched this. As for my food hygiene certificate that was a bit of a joke. Multi-choice stupity at its best

As a teen I was forever picking carrots straight out of the ground and other bits and pieces brushing them off and eating them and I don't remember ever being ill for it. Nowadays I wash most things as I tend to think/ worry more about issues and consequences and would recommend the latter

[VolesAteMyPeas]

As the mother of a three year old, I can honestly say that the CLEANEST thing going into his mouth would be unwashed salad from the allotment.

[Scarlet]

I give it a swill if it's growing low down, but leaves and herbs picked higher up often get eaten without it as I'm pottering around. Stuff in the GH rarely gets washed.

[jacob]

Only wash stuff if it looks like it needs washed. Lettuce quite often does, but rocket rarely gets washed.

[Kristen]

That tends to be the shop bought sealed pack stuff and even the washed is a problem , as the bags create the perfect environment for the bacteria to thrive.

The puffed-up bags are filled with Nitrogen I believe?

Also at pence for seed and pounds for shop bought mankey leaves why would you do it?

Amen to that!

[Guest]

The puffed-up bags are filled with Nitrogen I believe?

Never gave it a thought before, so just had a google and found these if anyone is interested. It will certainly make you want to grow even more of your own. Anyone not wanting to be put off supermarket food go look at the wildlife or rainbow pics thread

Salad: What's in the bag? - Environment - The Independent the great bag salad debate!!

Modified Atmosphere Packaging Applications the gases used to package and preserve food

TY Kristen you learn something new everyday

[noviceveggrower]

My granddad would just pull a carrot from the ground and give it to my sister and I to eat when we were kids. He would just give us anything to eat with out washing it.
As my nan use to say" you've got to eat a peck of dirt before you die" and I would say " yes but not all in one go"
I personally think we are far too 'clean' now a days.

[Kristen]

Never gave it a thought before, so just had a google and found these if anyone is interested.

Very interesting, thanks.

"Modified Atmosphere packaging" - Ye Gads!