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November
2, 2006
Traffic was moving very slowly as I drove my kids home from an activity one early evening. I could see multicolored lights flashing about a mile ahead of us. The flashing lights prompted my kids to glance up from their hypnotic, hand-held video games to check out the scene. “Wow, what’s happening up there?” my son asked. My daughter stared in amazement. “I’m not sure, but I think there was an accident,” I replied as I inched along behind a long line of vehicles. With the number of flashing lights, I was a little concerned about what we might see. This was not going to be a minor traffic violation. When we arrived at the scene, a tow truck was loading a crushed vehicle. “How did that happen?” my daughter asked as she studied the crumpled car. “It looks like someone ignored the stop light and hit this car going really fast. When you learn to drive, remember you need to drive for the other guy. Even if you have a green light, look both ways,” I said, echoing my parents’ words from years ago. I think my children will remember this scene for a long time. They probably will look both ways when they cross the street without prompting, too. I’ll remind them, anyway. We all face some level of risk every day whether driving, walking down the street or taking a bite of food. The recent spinach foodborne illness outbreak might make you think you should swear off all leafy greens permanently. More than 200 people were sickened by spinach contaminated with E. coli O157:H7 and three people died. A nationwide recall was in effect. Providing advice about contaminated meat is a little easier because E. coli is killed by cooking meat to safe temperatures. Salad is a different story. With bagged spinach, we as consumers couldn’t correct the food safety problem at home. Washing doesn’t remove E. coli O157:H7. Despite the tragedy of the outbreak for many families, the outbreak shines a spotlight on the safety of produce from farm to table. Researchers are working on methods to handle and process fresh produce more safely to avoid this issue in the future. The industry is examining its current processes to make them even safer. Sometimes it helps to put things in perspective. Do you ever walk down the street? Do you drive? Do you eat food that other people prepared? Do you eat food grown somewhere other than your own backyard? Chances are you answered yes to these questions. Consider these national statistics regarding the number of deaths associated with different activities. According to the National Safety Council, about 45,000 people die each year in the U.S. as a result of motor vehicle accidents. Nearly 6,000 people die in pedestrian accidents. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 76 million people get sick from food they ate and 5,000 die of foodborne illness. We all share responsibility for safety on several levels. Don’t give up driving, walking or eating vegetables. However, exercise some caution. Wash fresh produce carefully with running water. According to the report of an expert panel that convened after the outbreak, we don’t need to rewash triple-rinsed, bagged salads at home. The experts believe there is a greater risk of consumers contaminating the bagged lettuce in their own kitchens if they rewash it. Cross-contamination at home is a major issue when it comes to fresh produce. Here’s how to prevent cross-contamination from the store to your kitchen:
Try this tasty recipe with leftover holiday turkey.
### Source:
Julie Garden-Robinson, (701) 231-7187, jgardenr@ndsuext.nodak.edu |
Market Advisor: |
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North Dakota State University |
