2008.06.24
Tomato update
Michael Sutphin with the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Virginia Tech wrote me this afternoon with some valuable information about handling raw fruits and vegetables.
He thought it would be particularly timely in light of the recent salmonella scare involving tomatoes.
To read the article, click here.
This is an interesting article about handling food in the home and the importance of preventing cross-contamination of foods that are not going to go through a cooking process to reduce bacteria to a safe level. However in the current outbreak of tomatoes and Salmonella - it would appear that because of the widespread nature of the outbreak this could not be attributed to individual behavior at the point of purchase or in their own home. In this outbreak the controls that will minimize the potential for this type of outbreak from happening again may turn out to be supply chain controls.
Comment by Louise Manning — June 26, 2008 @ 1:58 am
Louise, I think you are correct. This may not have done much good for the folks who became ill with Salmonella during this most recent outbreak. But it does offer a very good perennial tip -- always wash vegetables before you use them. Always. Last night, I gave the outside of a cantaloupe a good scrubbing before I cut into it.
Comment by Lindsey — June 26, 2008 @ 9:56 am