With the new food-safety legislation making its way through Congress, safety advocates are hoping the FDA will soon have sweeping new powers to protect the nations food supply, as I write in the Informed Patient column today.
But in the debate over how to make food safer, it can be tough for consumers to figure out whats safe to eat. Take a study released earlier this month by Consumers Union, which analyzed 208 samples of bagged, pre-washed salad, and reported finding indicator organisms – bacteria found in the digestive tracts of humans, animals and the environment. The study authors say those bacteria indicate the potential for the presence of more dangerous bacteria, but none of the dangerous bacteria were found in the salad packages tested.
A spokeswoman for the Produce Marketing Association, which represents the fresh fruit and vegetable industry, says the study found no evidence of public health risk. And while cautious consumers might decide to re-wash the bagged salad to be on the safe side, she recommends against it: a scientific panel that studied the issue in 2007 warned that re-washing ready-to-eat, packaged leafy greens introduces a risk of cross-contamination of other surfaces in the unlikley event that harmful bacteria is present.
To read the rest of the story, please go to: The Wall Street Journal