| |  
True or False: You Know How to Handle Fruits and Vegetables Safely
by Mary Silva, M.S., R.D.
reviewed by Laura Jana, M.D., F.A.A.P.
With all the press coverage these days of the illnesses that can be conveyed in meat, most parents are careful about how they handle and cook beef, chicken, pork, and other animal products. However, one of the worst recent outbreaks of food poisoning in this country was finally traced to a salad bar in a fast-food restaurant, highlighting the need to handle all types of food safely.
Test your produce-handling savvy with the following quiz:
- Fresh fruit and vegetables should be washed in warm water and dishwashing detergent:
a. True
b. False
- After cutting, fresh produce can last outside a refrigerator for three or four hours or so:
a. True
b. False
- You should wash melons and oranges even though you're not going to eat the peel:
a. True
b. False
- Fresh fruit can be safely stored in the refrigerator for up to a week:
a. True
b. False
- Pasteurized fruit juice is safer than juice that has not been pasteurized:
a. True
b. False
- Children don't have to be taught hand washing before eating fruits and vegetables until they're school age:
a. True
b. False
- It is OK to cut up fruit with the same knife you just used to cut raw meat as long as you wiped it off on a clean dish towel first:
a. True
b. False
Answers:
- False. All fruits and vegetables should be washed in clean drinking water-the temperature doesn't matter-but you shouldn't use detergent since it can permeate the skin of the produce and leave harmful residues that can be eaten. This also applies to organically grown produce, which is exposed to the same organisms that can cause illness.
- False. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warns against eating fresh produce that has been cut and kept at room temperature for more than two hours.
- True. If not washed, the surface of the peel can harbor harmful bacteria that can be passed to the fruit's flesh when you slice through it with a knife.
- False. Most fruits and vegetables are highly perishable. They should be eaten within a few days of purchase. Exceptions? Citrus fruit will last about a week, and potatoes, onions, and garlic, can be kept even longer if they're properly stored in a cool, ventilated, and dark place.
- True. Pasteurization kills bacteria that cause food-borne illnesses. Young children, the elderly, and people with impaired immune systems should only drink juice or cider that has been pasteurized.
- False. Of course, even very young children should be taught to wash their hands with soap and water before and after handling fruit, vegetables, or any other food.
- False. Cutting up fruit with a knife that had been used to slice raw meat seems to be the cause of the food-poisoning episode in the restaurant mentioned above. And just wiping a knife on a dish towel won't do. Always use hot running water and dishwashing detergent to thoroughly clean any knife, cutting board, or other kitchen implement that has come into contact with raw meat. (In fact, it's best to have two cutting boards in your kitchen: one for meat, the other for produce.)
|
Created January 02, 2001
Reviewed January 04, 2001
| |
| | 
|
