Wellness

[Mindy D]

QUOTED FROM THE RECALL PAGE AT THE FDA:
"Fruit Fresh Up, Inc. is voluntarily recalling from the market all fresh cut fruit and vegetable products and ready to eat dips, as listed below, processed at its Depew, NY production facilities, due to a possible health risk from Listeria monocytogenes.

Listeria monocytogenes is an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Although healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, Listeria infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.

Products subject to the voluntary recall of fresh cut fruits and vegetables are packaged in clear plastic containers with a tamper evident seal and identified with a “Best if Used By” date between March 5, 2022, and March 23, 2022. Ready-to-eat dips are provided in 7oz clear plastic clamshell containers with a Best if Used By date of March 15, 2022 to March 31, 2022. Consumers who still have any of these products in their refrigerators are urged not to consume the product and to discard immediately. No illnesses have been reported with the products being recalled to date."

Many products affected. See the page to check yours. Brands Listed

Wegmans

Fresh Harvest

Lexington Co-op

Tops

https://tools.cdc.gov/podcasts/download.asp?m=316422&c=632480

[Enufstuff]

  It is safer to purchase whole fruits and vegetables and cut them up yourself. The more products are cut and handled, the more they are exposed to contamination by pathogens that can cause

foodborne illness.

  Years ago, I got sick from a piece of precut watermelon from

the supermarket. Now I only buy whole fruit and vegetables.

[ValuSkr]

Supermarkets have jumped into the pre-cut fruits and vegetables category with both feet, probably because they can charge a hefty mark-up. But I'd rather do the cutting myself, thank you.

[Mindy D]

@Enufstuff @Hello. You should know that as you slice downward from the outer rind, down into the inside of the fruit, you can drive bacteria and other pathogens into to part you eat too. Melons pick up a lot of soil born pathogens. @ValuSkr 

[ValuSkr]

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@Mindy D wrote:

@Enufstuff @Hello. You should know that as you slice downward from the outer rind, down into the inside of the fruit, you can drive bacteria and other pathogens into to part you eat too. Melons pick up a lot of soil born pathogens. @ValuSkr 

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@Mindy D   Yes, I always wash the outside of melons thoroughly before cutting into them. Well, actually, I wash anything thoroughly before cutting.

[Cakers3]

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@Mindy D wrote:

@Enufstuff @Hello. You should know that as you slice downward from the outer rind, down into the inside of the fruit, you can drive bacteria and other pathogens into to part you eat too. Melons pick up a lot of soil born pathogens. @ValuSkr 

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@Mindy D  You wash the outside of your fruit before cutting. 

Melons, even rough skins like cantelope, can easily be washed.

Cut on a clean surface.

Still much safer than who know who or where or how pre-cut fruit has been handled.

[Mindy D]

@Cakers3 @Washing the outside does provide some lessening of the microbes on the outside, but the outside is still teeming with pathogens. Rinsing longer should help reduce the amount of microbes, but it is not possible to eliminate them in this way. It is easier to remove more pathogens when rinsing the smooth of watermelon than when rinsing the creviced surface of cantaloupe.

I'm not saying to stop eating these foods. I'm just pointing out the reality of this. I would say that you probably have very little to be concerned about though. I have no intention of giving up watermelon or cantaloupe. An interesting treatment of wet steaming the surface of cantaloupes was studied in 2016. It was very successful at reducing the bacteria on the outside of the cantaloupes and did not cause any changes to the taste of appearance of the cantaloupes in the study. I wish the industry would adopt this treatment. I think I read about the treatment in Science Direct. 

EDITED TO ADD that I did find the information about the steam process. Here are highlights quoted from the article about the study. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwi59_7Gl9r2AhUEc98KHR-VDEsQ...

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Wet steam process of whole cantaloupes reduced total microbial transfer to the interior during fresh-cut preparation.

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Wet steam process enhanced microbial safety of fresh-cut cantaloupe pieces.

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Wet steam process also improved appearance and overall acceptability of the cut pieces.

[Enufstuff]

@Mindy D  You are correct. All fruits and vegetables should be

washed before cutting or consuming.

               My degree is in Food Science Technology and I worked

as a microbiologist in a chemical and analytical lab in the 80's & early 90's. My work was mostly analyzing food products and water.

              That is an interesting study of steaming the outside of cantaloupe. I would also think that using a vegetable brush and

fruit and vegetable wash product, would be effective.

             That is something I never need to do, since the only melon I like is watermelon.