Very careful! That is why you should stop washing these foods

Sand prefers to wash all food, choose definitely by those who are not washed yet. Forget, for example, the packages of lettuce or vegetables “already washed”.

Food safety experts reveal to Huff Post that this common error, when transformed into a habit, may compromise your health.

Contrary to what you think, you are not ensuring more hygiene, quite the contrary. These experts stress that the risk list can be quite broad. 

This is why I should stop washing the lettuce

“ Think of everything you come into contact with when you do this second lettuce wash: In the hands, in the sink, in the tap, in the drainer, countertops, cutting boards and utensils”, describes Indu Upadhyaya, professor of poultry science and food safety at the University of Connecticut. 

“It is not water that makes the process unsafe,” he says. However, it clarifies that it becomes unnecessary, since “the lettuce has already undergone a commercial washing process, and washing it again at home adds another handling round without necessarily bringing any additional benefit to food security.”

To avoid any type of cross-contamination, according to these experts, “make sure that they do not come into contact with dirty surfaces or utensils.”

Another habit you should even avoid after washing food

Whether it is a previously washed food or not, if it passes through water, it should not be stored again, otherwise, he'll end up eating more bacteria than he had before he washed it:

“ If washed and stored before consumption extra moisture can lead to product quality degradation, in addition to providing moisture to any microbial contaminants introduced during handling and washing at home, allowing them to survive and possibly grow in lettuce”, describes Otto Simmons, a food security specialist at North Carolina State University.

Indu Upadhyaya adds that “any such food can potentially transfer micro-organisms to other foods, especially poultry meat, seafood or eggs”.

Upadhyaya asks caution, especially for the cyclospora parasite where “when washing contaminated food does not make it safe for consumption. Washing is important, but does not necessarily remove all microorganisms that cause problems”, he adds. “After the parasite is present in fresh products, especially in green leaves, it can be difficult to remove it completely,” he says.