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It’s hard to admit, especially for someone as lazy as I am, but after countless outbreaks of food poisoning from pre-washed salad bags, it's time for all of us to ditch bagged salads once and for all.
This article was originally sparked by a 2016 Listeria outbreak linked to Dole brand salads—Listeria is particularly dangerous as it can cause miscarriage or stillbirth in pregnant women. While the salads were recalled, 15 people ended up in the hospital, and tragically, one person died. Similar outbreaks of E. coli were reported in 2012 and 2013, and in 2018, the CDC advised throwing away all chopped Romaine lettuce due to another E. coli outbreak.
A 2015 government report revealed that fruits and vegetables are the leading source of Listeria and Salmonella food poisoning, and they’re also a major contributor to E. coli cases. But bagged lettuce seems to be an even worse culprit than other veggies. Emily Bazelon, writing for Slate after an E. coli outbreak, explains why this is the case.
The process behind bagged greens involves taking lettuce from different farms, treating it with three chlorinated baths, drying it, sealing it in plastic, and then shipping it out. Unfortunately, the chlorination doesn’t eliminate E. coli—this would require heating the leaves and using organic acid treatment, which could cause the greens to wilt. By mixing produce from different farms without fully disinfecting it, the processing of bagged spinach can spread E. coli if it’s already present on one farm.
The current outbreak confirms the issue: Listeria cases have spread across eight states and five Canadian provinces. According to the Food Poisoning Bulletin, here’s where the contaminated batch of lettuce ended up:
The affected salads have been distributed to multiple states, though the reach may extend even further. Known states include: Alabama, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Massachusetts, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin. These salads were sold at stores like Giant, Kroger, ALDI, Price Chopper, Walmart, Fred Meyer, Schnucks, Meijer, ShopRite, Stop n Shop, Food 4 Less, Jay C, FoodsCo, PriceRite, and others.
This is why I’m opting to make my own salads again. If a bag of salad arrives with bacteria, washing it won’t help—it’ll just spread the germs around, leaving most of them intact. (If you’re still set on washing, a vinegar solution is somewhat more effective than plain water.) While a single head of lettuce or bunch of spinach could still be contaminated at its origin, it’s less likely to have been mixed with lettuce from all over the country.
Updated 4/28/2018 to include the 2018 E. coli outbreak.
Photo courtesy of VisualHunt.
