Still believe the myth that only animal products can give you food poisoning? Consumer Reports released the top 10 foods linked to outbreaks and recalls between 2017 and 2022 and the results included meat, vegetables, fruits and even flour…!
Brian Renholm, the director of food policy at Consumer Reports was keen to point out that these foods shouldn’t be avoided, ‘these foods are all usually safe and many of them are important parts of a healthy diet’.
Instead, he says, the research underscores ‘the importance of following best food safety practices with all of your foods, including knowing how to track, and respond, to food recalls when they happen.’
This is very welcome news since many dietary staples are included in the list including cheese which 35% of adults in the UK eat 2-3 times a week!
Foods That Were Most Frequently Recalled
Leafy Greens… Yes, Really
Something that our parents once had to beg us to eat a few mouthfuls of was one of the most recalled foods over the five year period. Outbreaks were linked to romaine lettuce and bagged salads and, in fact, these caused more deaths than any other food category over the past five years.
This is likely due to water contamination from the water used to irrigate lettuce fields. If manure from a nearby field lot gets into the irrigation system, the bacteria from animal faeces may get into your salad. Lovely.
This is likely also because people tend to eat leafy greens raw and don’t re-wash bagged salad.
Consumer Reports recommended buying whole heads of lettuce and removing the outer leaves before eating or, alternatively, cook kale, collard greens or swiss chard instead of eating your greens raw.
Peaches
Another food that you would assume would be a safe bet for eating, peaches actually face the same contamination route to that of leafy greens, according to Consumer Reports. To avoid any illness from peaches, make sure that you wash them before consuming to remove any potentially harmful bacteria.
Cheeses and Deli Meats
Many cheese and deli meats such as salami, ham, and sausage as well as soft cheese such as brie have been recalled due to contamination with listeria. Unlike many other bacterias, listeria can survive the cold temperatures of fridges and just one small part of the meat being touches with contaminated hands can leave the entire deli counter being contaminated.
According to the FDA, 90% of people infected with listeria are hospitalised and it can lead to miscarriages and stillbirths in pregnant people.
If you are pregnant or at high-risk of infection, avoid deli meats and cheese and instead stick to pre-packaged goods.
Ground Beef
Packaged ground beef was found to contain strains of E.coli and salmonella.
Salmonella is the more common of the bacterias but some strains of E.coli can be so dangerous that the food is recalled before anybody even gets sick.
Make sure that you’re following the Food Standard Agency’s alerts for any recalls.
Chicken
Perhaps the least surprising entry on this list, chicken is a common cause of food poisoning. Make sure that whenever you are cooking chicken, you follow the package instructions properly and that the chicken is fully cooked (no pink!) before consuming.
Papaya
Infecting 62 people in the United States over a 5 year period, papaya is one of the lower risk foods on this list but for any fruit and vegetables, it’s important to remember to wash them before consuming, you never know who has handled them in shops!
Flour
An outbreak of salmonella was tied to raw flour, making 12 people unwell. Most of them ate raw dough or batter before they became ill.
While it might be tempting to lick the last of the cake batter off the bowel or spoon, even a small amount of uncooked dough is enough to make you unwell, the CDC reports. Raw flour is an ingredient that must be oven or microwave heated before eating.
Melon
Due to being cut into cubes or balls before eating, melons are at a higher risk of contamination as the cutting can spread bacteria from surface to flesh.
It’s better to cut your own fruit at home and, before doing so, make sure you wash the skin first to reduce the risks of spreading bacteria.
If you need pre-packaged fruit, make sure it’s washed thoroughly once you get it home.
Turkey
Poultry is more susceptible to salmonella, in part because of the long process of workers removing feathers from chickens and turkeys.
A total of 398 people reported getting sick from turkey between 2017 and 2022, according to Consumer Reports.
Onions
The good news is, nobody has died from eating a contaminated onion. The bad news is, the vegetable has caused 2,167 to fall ill in the past five years. However, this was mostly during two large recalls of onions in 2020 and 2021, which were thought to be irrigated with bacteria-laden water in the US. So it is a very small risk that they’ll make you unwell.
If you’re still worried, rather than washing onions, which can cause them to rot faster, follow product recalls and don’t eat them raw.