Food safety experts share the 4 common grocery store items you should think twice before buying
At a time when major retailers such as Costco are recalling frozen meals due to the rising threat of listeria and McDonald's is facing flak for an E.coli outbreak, food safety inspectors have become the center of attention. They examine food products at restaurants and grocery stores, flagging contamination to prevent outbreaks, which means that consumers must strictly follow their advice. With food safety becoming a major issue, here are products at a grocery store that food inspectors ask consumers to stay away from.
All Veggies May Not be That Healthy
Experts don't ask people to entirely stay away from sprouts, but the ones in stock at grocery stores carry a risk of contamination. Sprouts can potentially be a source of harmful bacteria like E. coli and salmonella, and it's always recommended to wash them before consumption.
"Because of the sprouting conditions of high humidity and lots of moisture, even just a few bacteria cells can proliferate to millions during the process. And then there's nothing I can do as a consumer to reduce my risk, other than cook them," Benjamin Chapman, associate professor, food-safety specialist, department of Youth, family, and Community Sciences, North Carolina State University told Women Health Magazine. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also recommend cooking sprouts until they are “steaming hot” to kill germs and reduce the risk.
Things to Avoid at the Dairy Counter
Unpasteurized milk or raw milk is the one taken straight from a cow and packaged for consumption. Pasteurization is an important step in milk production as it kills harmful bacteria and germs like salmonella and Epa. Coli, listeria, and more, as per the CDC.
Professor Kali Kniel, a microbiologist at the University of Delaware told Huff Post that milk contaminated with germs won’t smell or look different and a “sniff test” won’t indicate if it is safe. Hence, experts strictly warn people against buying raw/unpasteurized milk. In fact, several states have placed a full-fledged ban on unpasteurized milk.
Meaty Treats That Could Be Risky
Beef cooked at a lower internal temperature could potentially allow pathogens like Salmonella or E. coli to survive. These pathogens can make their way through the digestive tract, grow and produce toxins, to cause symptoms such as diarrhea, vomiting, and fever, and could potentially lead to death, according to Catherine Nettles Cutter, professor and food-safety extension specialist-muscle foods, at Pennsylvania State University.
"Cooking to a higher internal temperature—like 160ºF for ground beef—will kill the pathogens and prevent foodborne illness," Cutter told Women's Health.
Pre Cut Produce Aren't as Healthy As It Looks
While pre-cut containers of fruit or vegetables are convenient, they may not be great for health. Experts recommend washing the pre-cut produce before consumption, a suggestion echoed by the CDC as well. Kali Kniel told Huff Post that pre-cut produce is extremely vulnerable to contamination from a variety of sources. Since most of these products are grown in the ground, they can absorb dirty water, come into contact with animal feces, and pick up harmful bacteria.
Thus, the CDC recommends making sure that pre-cut produce stays cold and separated from raw meat, poultry, and seafood that may be in the consumer's shopping cart.
In addition to all of the above, one item that has been flagged as particularly dangerous, is cantaloupe.
"Cleaning the exterior to a sufficient level is impossible. I then learned of the number of people who became ill from foodborne pathogens tied to cantaloupe—the same simple food that I saw served on my kids' plates at restaurants," Darin Detwiler, senior food policy coordinator for STOP Foodborne Illness and a faculty at Northeastern University in Boston, told Womens Health.
