Foreign products are to be avoided. Always wash your fruits before peeling them. Fruits should be refrigerated. If you have been applying these basic food preparation safety measures in your life then still you would have not been able to save yourself from the Listeria contaminated cantaloupes from Colorado.
It doesn’t make any difference if you use spinach or sprouts, hamburger or turkey, or even if the government increases the inspection on type of foods. The fact is that no food can be risk free at all.
The reality is that some foods have become so risky that children, the elderly, pregnant women, and others with weakened immune systems have begin to avoid them, according to food safety experts.
The recent Listeria outbreak in cantaloupes that has killed several people is the 19th time since 1984 that the fruit has been the cause of a mass food poisoning. The Listeria monocytogenes bacteria thrives on the fruit and in refrigerated conditions. Food experts recommend the following tips to ensure that you are doing everything you can to prevent food-borne illness:
-Shop more often and consume fresh fruits and vegetables within a few days. This gives germs less chance to multiply and gives you more nutrients from your food, too.
-Don’t just wash a melon. Scrub it under running water to rinse off any dislodged germs, and let it dry. If you cut it while it’s still wet, “you may be sliding the pathogens more easily from the outside to the inside” on the knife, DeWaal said.
- Keep the fridge cold, 40 degrees or lower. Higher than that can let germs grow.
-Don’t get a false sense of security if you buy organic produce. That just means less pesticide – not necessarily fewer germs.
As a Los Angeles personal injury lawyer, I hope that no one else is sickened by the contaminated cantaloupe. Furthermore, I hope that these tips help you avoid food-borne illness altogether. As a product liability lawyer, I’ve seen many cases like this and hope that you do everything you can to avoid it.
