Eat your spinach

Thinking of ditching salads in favor of an all-Cheetos diet, given the recent E. coli outbreak involving raw spinach? Now, now. Don’t be hasty.

The Food and Drug Administration found the source of the outbreak, which sickened nearly 200 people and killed at least three, and said late last month that raw spinach – bagged or otherwise – is as safe to eat now as it was before the contamination.

But do you believe that? And can you feel safe eating bagged salad again? In addition to the spinach scare, lettuce grown in California’s Salinas Valley was recalled Sunday after E. coli bacteria was found in the irrigation water. We asked Sandy McCurdy, the food-safety extension specialist at the University of Idaho, for some advice.

Short answer: McCurdy doesn’t feel at all queasy about eating spinach or salad mix.

“I would feel comfortable with the bagged salad mix,” she says. “The processes that are in place to produce that are really very good … In general this product is very safe.” Although some experts recommend washing greens one more time after you open the bag, McCurdy says it’s not necessary, “I buy it and I don’t wash it again.”

Q. Will washing my greens extremely well reduce the possibility of E. coli infection?

A. “If E. coli has internalized in the leaf, which can happen, washing isn’t going to do any good,” McCurdy says. “We have to rely on growing conditions.”

Q. Aren’t there strict rules governing how leafy greens are grown?

A. In August, just weeks before the latest E. coli outbreak, the FDA developed the Lettuce Safety Initiative to reduce the risks associated with lettuces and spinach, particularly California-grown produce. But, as of now, the safety guidelines are just that – guidelines.

McCurdy thinks the industry, after losing so much money because of the outbreak, will start enforcing its own safe-growing rules.

“It’s very unfortunate it takes this kind of outbreak to force this kind of thing,” she says.

Q. Is it less risky to buy a single head of lettuce or bunch of spinach, rather than bagged greens?

A. “The only way that I see that being a little bit safer is you’re dealing with just one plant,” she says. “Someone has cut the one head. Whereas if you buy a bag, you are actually getting a product that comes from a lot of different heads.”

Q. What’s the best way to wash my greens once I get them home?

A. Whatever you do, don’t fill the sink with water and soak the greens there. Consumer sinks, McCurdy says, are “really not designed to be sanitary.” Rinse lettuce under running water and spin or pat dry. If you like to soak the leaves, do so in a large, clean bowl.

Q. Will they get cleaner if I use something stronger than just plain water?

A. McCurdy has heard of people trying to wash produce with a little bleach or dishwashing liquid. “We don’t recommend that,” she cautions. Special produce-washing products, such as Fit, won’t do any harm, but she hasn’t seen much research supporting their effectiveness at killing germs. “If it makes you feel better, it’s fine to use them,” she says.

Q. How can I cook spinach to make sure I kill any bacteria?

A. You’ll need a good food thermometer. Spinach should be heated to 160 degrees to get rid of E. coli. But that means every single leaf has to reach that temperature. A dish such as wilted spinach salad, where hot dressing is poured over the greens, will not be nearly hot enough.

Q. Are leafy greens the only type of produce to be cautious about?

A. No, McCurdy says. Greens are susceptible to contamination because they grow right on the ground. And so do melons, such as cantaloupe. “We urge consumers to wash the outside before they cut it,” she says. “Salmonella has been the problem with cantaloupe. You don’t want to drag the pathogens into the fleshy part you’re going to be eating.”

Q. You could drive yourself insane with all of this food safety stuff, couldn’t you?

A. “You could,” she says. But, she adds, “I think it’s important to keep eating these products. Probably, they will be even safer now as a result of this. There’s a lot of eyes looking very closely at lettuce and spinach products. I would just hope that they keep that focus.”