About a month ago I was driving home and passed workers in the paddock harvesting lettuce.They picked them,bagged them and then threw them up onto a conveyer belt.I always thought that they were washed when we bought them from the supermarket.In the paddock there was a port-a=loo .I in the past have bought these lettuces and not washed them but I won't buy again.The ground that they were grown in has always been full of sprays over the years.

yeah you are supposed to wash, but really think about. If you got those sprays on your skin you would was thoroughly with soap, but when they end up on food you give a good rinse at best with water.

If your worried go organic, otherwise dont stress.

Interesting view Plates.

Coincidentally I have been thinking that as I brush over the brocolli with water for all a few seconds.

Marylew, when I first read the subject line of your post, I thought, my God, what will they think of putting in aerosol cans next..!! However having read the posts, I now understand what you are talking about.

I'm not sure what sort of bags you are referring to here. I have never regarded any whole lettuce, wherever bought, to be washed, no matter how it is packaged. The mixed leaves you get in sealed bags eg Krispcut, are definitely washed and the bags are pumped full of carbon dioxide before sealing.

Someone I know was selling hydroponically-grown mixed salad leaves at a Farmers' Market in zip lock bags. The food safety inspector came along one day and told her that if she wished to sell unwashed leaves, then they would have to be presented in an open container with bags and tongs so that people could bag their own. While the latter would seem to be the least hygienic option, the philosophy was that if people see mixed leaves in bags, then they assume them to be washed (as in the supermarket) and if my friend wished to wash her leaves and present them in bags, then she would have to do so in a registered kitchen to ensure that the water she was using was of an acceptable quality ie not contaminated.

So there are pretty strict rules around this and I wonder if what you are seeing in the paddock is not the end of the story.

Re sprays, there are also strict rules around levels of spray residue in produce so while organic or spray-free is ideal, knowing that levels are monitored provides some comfort, especially given that most sprays are applied early in the plant cycle and not at fruiting stage.

That said, I always wash all fruit and veg. thoroughly before eating or cooking.

Regards,

Barbara Anne



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/19/2016 05:06AM by Barbara Anne.

the bags you get them in are professionally sealed arent they? In a factory?

Im a shocker, I often never wash them and in my mind dont mind a bit of dirt - I NEVER thought about there being a portaloo there and that side of things. UCK.
Ill be washing from now on...

Vanessa

Most of the time the cultivators do not wash the vegetables properly before providing them towards the supermarket. All the process of cleaning the vegetable should be safe for the health.








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