Forum Discussion

GordonThree's avatar
GordonThree
Explorer
Dec 04, 2018

Food safety experts?

Question for anyone on the forum that's a food processor / safety expert...

The leafy greens shelves in my local grocer have been bare for days, apparently out of an abundance of caution about fecal matter contamination where-ever the greens are being grown.

I'm wondering, rather than destroying all the food, whether it be contaminated or not, why not irradiate it like other foods that are grown in questionable conditions?

Is irradiation damaging to the tender structure of a leafy green? Does the high water content and therefore density of the greens make effective irradiation problematic?

Is it simply a logistics problem, given the very short shelf life of fresh greens, that the time from harvest to initial processor, to irradiation facility, to distributor and finally the grocer would have too much product loss?
  • Beentherefixedt's avatar
    Beentherefixedt
    Explorer
    Dec 04, 2018
    To the best of my knowledge you cannot irradiate fresh vegetables successfully.

    I have lived overseas in several countries where you bought special disinfectant solution to wash all fruits and vegetables before serving them. ALL restaurants used it as well. But no store is gooing to take the legal risk of treating that food for the customer.

    This can be bought here but I have not seen any lately.

    The recent removal from the shelves was supposed to be for Romaine Lettuce from California and Arizona. I have been eating all kinds of lettuce during this time with no problem...but then again I have lived in such diverse places as Cambodia, Sierral Leone and Egypt so my guts are full of great bacteria that protects me.
  • garym114's avatar
    garym114
    Explorer II
    Dec 04, 2018
    https://www.fda.gov/food/resourcesforyou/consumers/ucm261680.htm

    The FDA has approved a variety of foods for irradiation in the United States including:
    •Beef and Pork
    •Crustaceans (e.g., lobster, shrimp, and crab)
    •Fresh Fruits and Vegetables
    •Lettuce and Spinach
    •Poultry
    •Seeds for Sprouting (e.g., for alfalfa sprouts)
    •Shell Eggs
    •Shellfish - Molluscan
    (e.g., oysters, clams, mussels, and scallops)
    •Spices and Seasonings

    Just the logistics would have been to much.
  • DutchmenSport's avatar
    DutchmenSport
    Explorer
    Dec 04, 2018
    If you have no electric power to keep your engine block warmer going, then your only option is to start the engine every few hours, let it warm up, and then turn if off again for a few more hours, and keep repeating. I don't know about your engine block heater, but I do know the one in my truck is quite the power hungry hog.
  • GordonThree's avatar
    GordonThree
    Explorer
    Dec 04, 2018
    DutchmenSport wrote:
    If you have no electric power to keep your engine block warmer going, then your only option is to start the engine every few hours, let it warm up, and then turn if off again for a few more hours, and keep repeating. I don't know about your engine block heater, but I do know the one in my truck is quite the power hungry hog.


    Using the block heater to sterilize contaminated lettuce sounds interesting :)
  • magnusfide's avatar
    magnusfide
    Explorer II
    Dec 04, 2018
    The primary reason suppliers aren't attempting the irradiation and washes is simply COST. They would not be able to sell enough after all the bad publicity to recover the costs of treating the greens. They make great composts I hear.
  • DownTheAvenue's avatar
    DownTheAvenue
    Explorer
    Dec 04, 2018
    Beentherefixedthat wrote:
    I have lived overseas in several countries where you bought special disinfectant solution to wash all fruits and vegetables before serving them. ALL restaurants used it as well. But no store is gooing to take the legal risk of treating that food for the customer.


    This makes no sense! A grocer would not take the risk, but a restaurant would?
  • GordonThree's avatar
    GordonThree
    Explorer
    Dec 05, 2018
    I remember seeing that food washing snake oil years ago. I think the FDA killed the main ingredient, proving it had little effect on microbials.

    Bare shelves again today.
  • BarabooBob's avatar
    BarabooBob
    Explorer III
    Dec 05, 2018
    I work in a convenience store part time and last week I had to through 200 prepared salads away. This is the biggest chain of stores in WI/MN/IA and every store tossed every salad. It is better for public opinion to have an empty shelf rather than a sick customer. I agree with the decision to dump everything. I had food poisoning about 30 years ago and do not wish that on anyone. Three days in the hospital getting sick at the mere mention of food. I was in the hospital for dehydration, I could not keep anything, including water, down.
  • Scallo's avatar
    Scallo
    Explorer
    Jun 24, 2019
    Recently stumbled upon this scallop recipe.
    https://club.cooking/recipe/baked-scallops/
    The dish enjoyed the whole of my family.

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