Food Safety

In light of the recent outbreaks due to contaminated produce I would like to give you some advise on how to reduce your risk!

I currently work in the produce department of a grocery store and with out getting too specific, as so as not to scare you away from produce, I will be gentle in telling you about the stuff that goes on that you may not be aware of.....

First off there is no official law or rule that your produce stocker must wear gloves while handling your produce...unless we are cutting up the produce then we must wear gloves!

People are really not all that careful while walking through the produce department......yes they do not cover their mouth while coughing or sneezing....they may drop stuff on the floor.

Some feel the need to handle every piece of produce before making their selection...they smell it, knock on it, flick it....to make sure of the freshness of the product.

They may go through several bags of grapes to select the perfect grapes.

This list could go on and on and on.....

So what are you to do to protect yourself??


WASH ALL PRODUCE BEFORE YOU CONSUME IT!!!!!

Now you don't need to buy all the fancy products out there that claim to rid your produce of any nastiness it may have. All you need to do it fill your sink with cool water and add a cap full of bleach to wash your produce in. Make sure to rinse well !!!!

You may be asking yourself....why should I wash stuff like melons and things with a very thick skin??? This is what I explained to the husband one day when he asked the very same thing.....yes certain things have very thick skins .....however when you cut through the skin and drag your knife through the "meat" you are also dragging what ever was on the skin to begin with...dirt, bacteria or what ever else all the way through the product!!

Be informed about what you are buying!!! Your local produce workers should know about all recalls and where their products are coming from....so just ask...if they don't know have them find someone who does know.

And be aware that even organic products can harbor stuff we don't want to ingest so they must be washed too!!!

I hope this was helpful and did not scare anyone because that is not my intention I just want everyone to be aware!!!