HealtyDayS

Hawai’i State Department of Health is reminding residents to  carefully clean produce to minimize the risk of food-borne illness.

This is particularly important  during the summer months, when food-borne illness tends to increase.   
 
Last month DOH and Lt. Governor James R. “Duke” Aiona, Jr. launched a statewide public  awareness campaign called Fruits and Veggies. Good Choice! to encourage Hawai’i residents  to eat one more serving of fruit and one more serving of veggies every day.  But while fruits and  veggies provide health benefits, during last year’s national outbreak of E. coli from contaminated  spinach, consumers became more aware that it’s possible to become sick by eating something  that’s supposed to be healthy. 
 
“A diet that’s rich in fruits and vegetables is important for a healthy lifestyle. Just be sure that  what you consume is adequately cleaned,” says Lance Wong, supervisor of the Hawai’i State  Department of Health Food and Drug Branch. “No matter what, wash it before you eat it.
 
“Before you prepare produce, wash your hands well using soap and water.  Then wash your  produce carefully, including vegetables that come in packages or bags that are labeled as ‘prewashed’,” said Wong.

“There’s no need to use soap to clean produce but you should let water run through lettuce  leaves, and use a vegetable brush to scrub off any seen or unseen dirt on firm produce such as  melons, cucumbers or potatoes.  
 
“It’s not just the food that requires thorough cleaning,” Wong added. “It’s important to use soap  and hot water to wash counter tops, cutting boards, serving plates and utensils. Doing so will  minimize the risk of transferring bacteria from one surface to the next.”
 
There’s a risk of cross contamination if raw juice from poultry or meat is spilled onto a counter,  the counter is not well cleaned, and produce is placed on the same cutting surface. 
 
Harmful bacteria that may be in the soil or water where produce is grown can also come into  contact with fruits and vegetables causing contamination. Contaminated produce – even fruit  and vegetable juices made from contaminated produce – can cause food poisoning.  
 
Symptoms of food-borne illnesses include diarrhea, abdominal cramping, fever, blood or even  pus in the stool, headache, vomiting and severe exhaustion. These symptoms may occur  shortly after eating or be delayed for several days or even weeks.
 
According to the FDA, children, the elderly, and those with weakened immune systems are  particularly vulnerable to food-borne illness from raw bean, alfalfa, clover, or radish sprouts.   Sprouts should cooked before they’re consumed. Rinsing sprouts with water is not enough to  remove bacteria.