Scrub that Produce!!

Listen up . . . and you know who you are!!!!  Wash your produce!  Even if the package says triple washed (the recent bacterial contamination with spinach actually involved spinach in bags that were “triple washed” . . . it absolutely needs to be cleaned!  Here is a guideline:

Firm produce (apples, pears, peppers) should be scrubbed with the hands under running water. Fragile fruits such as berries should be rinsed with a sink sprayer, using a colander so the fruit can be tumbled. If a sprayer is not available, berries and soft fruits should be placed in a colander and immersed in warm water and swished three or four times, and the water should be changed twice more or until it runs clean.

Root vegetables and tubers should be sprayed with water first and then scrubbed with a vegetable brush. Produce should be washed just before serving, not before storing; dampness increases spoilage.

Outer leaves of leafy vegetables should be removed before washing. All greens should be washed in the coldest water possible to maintain crispness.

Damaged or bruised areas should be cut away immediately because bacteria thrives in them. The produce should then be refrigerated immediately.

Fruits and vegetables with rinds, like melon and squash, should also be washed. When fruit is cut, bacteria on the surface can be transferred to the flesh.

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