Food Safety News – September 2010
Salsa and guacamole common cause of food poisoning
Contaminated salsa and guacamole dips are common causes of food poisoning in restaurants, and food workers need to take greater care, according to research in the US.
Nearly one of every 25 traceable outbreaks of foodborne disease between 1998 and 2008 apparently began with one of the increasingly popular dips, which are made using onions, tomatoes, peppers, avocados, herbs and other ingredients.
"Possible reasons salsa and guacamole can pose a risk for foodborne illness is that they may not be refrigerated appropriately and are often made in large batches, so even a small amount of contamination can affect many customers," said Magdalena Kendall of the US Department of Energy's Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education.
"Awareness that salsa and guacamole can transmit foodborne illness, particularly in restaurants, is key to preventing future outbreaks," Kendall, who worked on the study, said in a statement.
"Salsa and guacamole often contain diced raw produce, including hot peppers, tomatoes and cilantro, each of which has been implicated in past outbreaks."
Find out more about this research
Our comment:
If it’s happening there you can bet it’s happening here. Preventing contamination of these dips in the first place can go a long way to reducing the risk of food poisoning which is why we continue to shout about how impressed we are by Fit salad and vegetable wash!
Fit wash is a safe to use, natural produce wash. Because of its surfactant powers, it not only kills harmful bacteria such as E.coli O157, Salmonella, Staphylococcus aureus and Listeria but it also cleans. It removes pesticides, waxes, soils, insects and other contaminants. Because of this it out-performs chlorine particularly on dirty produce and leaves no nasty residues, aftertaste or smells.
Find out more about Fit Wash
P.S. UK translation of cilantro = coriander!
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