How do you clean your veggies? That's something I've always wondered about. I remember Joe, the custodian at our school in Illinois telling me that he worked in a restaurant once and he only orders cooked veggies. He used to tell me that I'd be ordering salad at my own peril. He also told me that it's better to air dry my dishes rather than using a dish towel which can harbor germs.
Anyway, recently a 22-year-old Minnesota fellow contracted a rare and sometimes fatal form of meningitis. He was in Hilo hospital on the Big Island for 7 weeks. Apparently he must have ingested a rat lungworm that might have been on some guavas or other fruit on the island. Apparently, the worms are extremely tiny and pretty much impossible to see. They've been having (rare) incidences of this parasitic disease since 2005 on the Big Island from people eating local produce.
I use a veggie wash most of the time for my veggies, but I've heard that research showed it doesn't do a whole lot of good. When I took a cooking class from a doctor, he said rinsing the veggies three times will do the trick. But will it?
What do you do?
POSTSCRIPT: Oops! From your comments, I'm seeing people thinking of not eating fresh veggies. I didn't intend that. Fresh veggies are excellent for you. However, we really need to make sure we wash them carefully. I spray my veggies with veggie wash, lightly rub them and then drop them into a large bowl of water and swoosh it around. Then I rinse them twice more in clean water and finally run a spray of water over them. I'm pretty confident, but I wondered what the rest of you did.
I use a veggie wash most of the time for my veggies, but I've heard that research showed it doesn't do a whole lot of good. When I took a cooking class from a doctor, he said rinsing the veggies three times will do the trick. But will it?
What do you do?
POSTSCRIPT: Oops! From your comments, I'm seeing people thinking of not eating fresh veggies. I didn't intend that. Fresh veggies are excellent for you. However, we really need to make sure we wash them carefully. I spray my veggies with veggie wash, lightly rub them and then drop them into a large bowl of water and swoosh it around. Then I rinse them twice more in clean water and finally run a spray of water over them. I'm pretty confident, but I wondered what the rest of you did.
Yikes, not sure washing would get a rat lungworm. That is scary.
ReplyDeleteI am pretty much like your doctor, just rinsing a couple of times. Never been sick from veggies but bad meat has made me study the bottom of a toilet bowl a few times.
Good to know that my lazy way of drying dishes has health benefits.
I rinse my veggies thoroughly. I also air dry my dishes most of the time because of something I was told years ago, and if I use a tea towel to dry them it's always one straight after it's been washed. I was going to say that we need to be exposed to a certain amount of germs to build up that immunity but I think if we looked too deeply into this subject, we would be horrified. Then I read about this rat lungworm and was really horrified.
ReplyDeleteI have never heard of the rat lungworm...Yikes! I do was veggies but I'm sure the towels in my kitchen are not washed as often as they should be. I think I will start using a clean one every day.
ReplyDeleteI have never been to Hawaii. Now I'm thinking that if I go, I will skip any salads and concentrate on cooked food. I usually do that anyway, except when I eat out I love to get salads with lots of greens. We wash everything before it even goes into the fridge. Good information, Kay. Thanks for the tip.
ReplyDeleteAfter I read that article in the Star-Advertiser, I went to the fridge and threw out the Romaine lettuce David had bought. I told him we would no longer eat any raw vegetables. Everything would be cooked. Why take chances? Also, I peel fruits, too, because germs and pesticides reside on the skin or rind.
ReplyDeletewow, thats scary, I need to up my vegie and fruit washing, I no longer buy bagged greens, they are suppose to be safe but I have heard of things happening from them.I'm glad you wrote this,
ReplyDeleteI don't eat anything raw anymore, but thanks for the timely tip.
ReplyDeleteDianne
I lied. I do eat oranges and they are raw, but they come in a cover. Dianne
ReplyDeleteI use a few drops of foodgrade peroxide but I'm never sure either.... Oh what to do????
ReplyDeleteI remember when we lived in Brazil back in the 70s. The water was the culprit and just brushing your teeth could lead to illnesses. All lettuce had to be soak in halozone tablets or something like that...it's scary!
ReplyDeleteI have never gotten sick from eating fresh vegetables or fruits yet, but the recent occurance on the Big Island is reason to take more precautions. Now instead of just rinsing the vegetable under running water, maybe I should immerse the vegetables completely in water, swirl it around, let it sit for awhile, then rinse and rinse again. I recall my mother did that with fresh broccoli, I guess because the flowerettes were difficult to rinse.
ReplyDeleteL. from W.
Ewwwww, I don't even want to go there!
ReplyDeleteI took extensive cookin' and nutritional classed in college. I couldn't believe what the FDA allows to breeze through inspection. 'Just sayin'.....
God bless ya and have a parasite free kinda day from the leery hills and hollers of the Missouri Ponderosa!!! :o)
I think it is wise to avoid hysteria about eating vegetables. We have friends who have lived down in Puna for years who have never gotten rat lungworm disease. Just wash everything, even if it comes "pre-washed."
ReplyDeleteI don't wash my veggies very well, spinach is notorious for harbouring dirt, etc. But let's hope we're somewhat immune to most of the stuff!
ReplyDeleteWow! That's kind of scary. But I really don't think about that stuff much. At most I lightly rinse fruits and vegetables. I wash greens once, bagged salad not at all.
ReplyDeleteSo far, so good.
When I was working as an oncology nurse we instructed our chemotherapy patients to avoid fresh fruits and veggies while getting treatment because of the risk for infection. 99% of people with a healthy immune system can handle any possible contamination. I scrub and rinse well them well. Just using common sense is best.
ReplyDeleteThat's so gross. But I just can't worry about stuff like this. It's like those mites they say are in bedding. I just can't think about them.
ReplyDeleteI’ll try to wash my vegetable more thoroughly – I have been washing them pretty quickly, but so far we have not been sick.
ReplyDeleteThis panics me, I think of it when I'm eating a sandwich with lettuce away from home . . . I spray and inspect at home. Scary, Kay
ReplyDeleteAloha from Waikiki
Comfort Spiral
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As soon as we get fresh veggies from the market we straightaway wash them several times under tap water and leave them on a big bamboo strainer so the water drips and they dry by themselves.Some veggies need immersing like tomatoes and other leafy ones (in water with a pinch of salt).I wash my salad veggies with filtered water right before cutting them.We Indians tend to overcook everything so ...
ReplyDeleteOh my word, what a palava. I leave vegetables as they are when I bring them home, dirt and all, as washing them and leaving them washes away lots of nutrients. Then it depends on what veg it is. I was brought up with the saying 'you've got to eat a peck of dirt before you die', whatever that means! So I do the minimum necessary to render them edible and to retain the best of the flavour and nutrients.
ReplyDeleteGosh - I should eat more veggies, but I'm brave. I just wash any dirt off and munch. I'd eat more salads if they were already prepared. I'm still ticking. I don't think dirty veggies will do me in at end-of-life. DrumMajor
ReplyDelete