Leafy Greens Number One Source of Food Poisoning
Your greens may be good for you, but they’re also the number-one source of food poisoning in the country. According to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analysis of the top food poisoning sources for Americans, leafy greens are at the top of the list.
These leafy greens include lettuce and spinach, and according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, extra care should be taken while buying, handling, storing and preparing these foods. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently released the results of an analysis in which it found that one out of every 5 of food poisoning outbreaks is linked to leafy green vegetables.
That is much higher than the food poisoning rate for any other kind of food. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also found that almost 50% of all food poisoning outbreaks were linked to produce. Produce includes leafy greens, fruits and other types of vegetables.
However, just because leafy greens were linked to more numbers of food poisoning outbreaks, does not mean that they led to more numbers of fatalities. More numbers of people were killed in outbreaks caused by contaminated poultry than fresh produce. In fact, food poisoning lawyers recommend that you don’t avoid leafy greens just because they are linked to more food poisoning outbreaks.
Leafy greens accounted for approximately 2/3rd of illnesses. However, they accounted for about 14% of the hospitalizations linked to food poisoning outbreaks, while contaminated poultry was linked to 16% of hospital admissions. Contaminated poultry was linked to 19% of all food poisoning-related fatalities, and 10% of fatalities were caused by dairy products.
So, go ahead and buy your leafy greens, but make sure that they’re separated and stored separately from your meat, poultry and seafood. Wash leafy greens in separate utensils, and maintain a separate set of chopping boards and utensils for washing and cutting them.
Resource: https://www.robertreeveslaw.com/blog/leafy-greens-number-one-source-of-food-poisoning