How to Reduce Your Risk of Foodborne Illnesses

Last Updated on January 7, 2021

7- Peaches

© Wikipedia
Peach is filled with pesticides during the weeks before harvest to give it a skin without blemish. According to the USDA, one peach can be covered with up to 9 various pesticides.

At the supermarket, purchase only organic peaches, even though the organic product can contain minuscule pesticide residues. Or you can them at the farmer’s market.

At home, you have to wash your peaches using a sponge or a scrub brush.

8- Prepackaged Lettuce

© Cool Mom Eats
The lettuce on your burger can cause you more harm than the beef. According to a test from Consumers Union on two hundred salad greens packages, 40% were proven positive for fecal coliform bacteria. Moreover, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, 28% of food poisoning was caused by salad while lettuce accounted for 11%.

You should absolutely avoid buying prepackaged salad mix from the supermarket and don’t trust the triple washed claims.

Salad greens must be washed one leaf at a time under running water before consumption

9- Cold Cuts

In fact, Listeria flourishes at low temperature. Moreover, they are considered by researchers to be at high risk of causing listeriosis.

Avoid buying the deli slicer, as it’s the worst source of Listeria-infected cold cuts, and also never buy more deli meat than you can use because the germs can multiply rapidly.

Before making your homemade sandwich, spread on the mustard. Researchers have proven that 90% of salmonella, E.colI, and Listeria, were killed after 2 hours of exposure to a mustard combination.

10- Sprouts

© Two Peas & Their Pod
All types of sprouted seeds include significant amounts of phytonutrients, and broccoli has specifically been proven to help avoid stomach cancer. Unluckily, the humidity and warmth needed to grow sprouts are also a paradise to E.coli, Salmonella, and Listeria bacteria.

Simply avoid purchasing sprouts at the supermarket but if you really have to, choose the crisp-looking ones with the buds attached and stay away from slimy-looking, musty-smelling, and dark sprouts.