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Jeanna Bryner and Karen Rowan
Staff Editors
LiveScience.com Jeanna Bryner And Karen Rowan
staff Editors
livescience.com Wed May 12, 11:30 am ET
As the recall of tainted romaine lettuce expands, many plates could be devoid
of the crisp veggie in an effort to stay healthy. That might be a good idea,
according to experts who say that washing produce, even very carefully, may not
remove all the bacteria present.
At least 19 people became sick last week including three with life-threatening
symptoms, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
An estimated 76 million cases of foodborne disease occur each year in the
United States, according to the CDC, and the bacteria that cause these
illnesses, such as Salmonella or E. coli, can hang on tight to food even
through a washing.
"If you've got bacteria on the surface of fruits and vegetables, and you give
them a wash with cold water, it removes some of what's on the surface," said
Brendan Niemira of the USDA's Microbial Food Safety Unit in Pennsylvania.
"Unfortunately, it [cold water rinsing] doesn't remove all of them, and that's
a problem. If things are well-attached or living in a tight-knit community
called a biofilm, that's going to be hard to get rid of."
Rough surfaces, like those on cantaloupes and spinach, provide lots of nooks
and crannies in which bacteria can hide out, Niemira said. Tomatoes are much
smoother, though their surfaces do contain tiny pores that make homes for
bacteria.
You would want to wash rougher-surfaced fruit more carefully. Niemira cautions,
however, too rough of a cleaning can bruise or tear the protective layer
covering tomatoes and other fruits and vegetables.
"Most bacteria can't be washed off," agreed Doug Powell, associate professor of
food safety at Kansas State University. And although it happens rarely,
bacteria in soil can also be taken up by the roots of plants and remain inside
the plant's veins, where they would be impossible to remove by washing.
For vegetables and other foods that are eaten raw, the best way to prevent
outbreaks like this one involving romaine lettuce is through cleaner farming
practices, Powell said. When the water used to irrigate the food crops is drawn
from wells that are near livestock, fecal bacteria can spread through the water
to the food. And when manure is used to fertilize the soil, bacteria can easily
colonize the plants. Farm workers need to be careful when they handle the
crops, because bacteria on their hands can transfer to the crops, he said.
"We need to make sure that the water is clean, that some soil amendments aren't
used, that the hands and the shipping containers that come in contact with the
crops are clean, and that animals are kept away," Powell said.
Some crops may be more easily contaminated than others. The current outbreak is
believed to be due to contaminated romaine lettuce, and Powell said the way
romaine grows makes it easy for bacteria to take hold.
"New leaves grow up around the other leaves," within a head of romaine lettuce,
Powell said, so bacteria find a sheltered environment between the leaves in
which they can thrive.
Although the disease-causing bacteria are also found in meat, cooking kills the
bacteria.
"Fresh produce is the common source of outbreaks because it's eaten raw,"
Powell said, "And anything that comes into contact with it has the potential to
contaminate it -- think about all of the places that produce goes after it
leaves the farm."