Top Food-Safety Misconceptions

by Allison Van Dusen

When you heard about the recent outbreak of infections caused by Salmonella-tainted tomatoes, odds are you were surprised a mere vegetable was at the heart of the scare.

But experts and data suggest Americans' trust in the safety of their fruits and vegetables may be a little misplaced--just one of many misconceptions people have about food safety and food-borne disease.

When it comes to foods that pose safety concerns, Americans tend to worry the most about meat, not fresh produce. In fact, a new national study conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health shows that, of a representative national sample of 1,500 adults, 82% identified raw fish or sushi and 80% rare or medium-cooked hamburgers as at least somewhat risky. Only 36% of those surveyed found raw fruits and vegetables to be risky.


In 2006, the Center for Science in the Public Interest reviewed its database of food-borne-illness outbreaks, compiled by sources including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, state health departments and scientific journals. The group found that between 1990 and 2003, the foods most commonly linked to outbreaks with identified causes were seafood (899) followed by produce (554), then poultry (476), beef (438) and eggs (329).

"Fresh fruits and vegetables have been one of, if not the most, significant source of food-borne illness in the past decade," says Douglas Powell, scientific director of the Food Safety Network at Kansas State University.

Why the disconnect? People tend to think the worst of meat, in particular, due to the number of recent high-profile recalls by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, including a November recall of more than 1 million pounds of Cargill Meat Solutions ground beef products, which may have been tainted with E. coli.

Over the past couple of decades, Americans also have been digesting news about cases of mad cow disease popping up in England, Canada and the U.S., says Robert Blendon, professor of Health Policy and Political Analysis at the Harvard School of Public Health.

Public food-safety campaigns also have put far more effort over the years into raising awareness about the dangers of failing to properly handle meat as opposed to fruits and vegetables. In addition, people view fresh produce as wholesome and natural, not as a health threat.

"They pretty much think you wash a fruit or vegetable a little and that's it," Blendon says.

But while washing off produce is a good precaution, it won't necessarily safeguard you from a food-borne illness. Nor will only buying locally grown fruits and vegetables from the farmers' market, says Powell.

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At the farm level, produce can be contaminated in a variety of ways, including contact with untreated manure, infected or polluted water, workers with poor hygiene habits or unclean storage or transportation facilities, Powell says. While local farms may use less transportation and fewer workers, the chances for contamination are still there. And since fresh produce is, of course, uncooked, anything that comes into contact with it can taint it. Once E. coli or Salmonella gets inside a leafy green, tomato or sprout, it's hard to get rid of it.

While following recommended safety practices at home certainly may help, consumers need to be vigilant about paying attention to food recalls and removing affected foods from their homes, says Mindy Brashears, director of the International Center for Food Industry Excellence at Texas Tech University.

That's particularly important given that some are still confused about the role cooking can play in preventing food-borne illnesses. Though the majority of those surveyed by the Harvard poll knew that cooking food thoroughly would protect them against Salmonella (68%), and E. coli (61%), 41% of respondents incorrectly believed that cooking would protect them against botulism and 32% thought cooking could protect them from mad cow disease.

No matter what you do, experts say you should never assume you can completely avoid having harmful bacteria turn up on your or your family's dinner plates.

"You can do everything you possibly can," Brashears says, "and it can still happen to you."

Taken From : http://www.forbes.com