Oh, man. Was the salad contaminated?

addiebee

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I made a lovely dinner last night. Pasta e Fagioli, garlic bread and a lovely green salad. Except - within 4 hours of eating that dinner, my boyfriend got violently ill. I mean, vomiting and diarrhea. I had a tiny tummy ache, but nothing bad.

He's fine this morning. So, I suspect the bagged greens. And they are going right into the garbage! I don't even want to try to salvage them (ie: rinsing them a couple times.)

Thank goodness my mom didn't have any - at 84 and frail - not a good thing to have happen. Or maybe I will call the county health dept and ask if I should take some action re: possible contamination.

I know there have been problems with bagged greens in the past, but I have never had an issue with them - until now.
 
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addiebee

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Originally Posted by Bella713

Oh no, how scary
Is he better today?
He's fine this morning. Had a bagel and coffee for breakfast. I also reported the incident to the state health dept.
 

tierre0

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Originally Posted by AddieBee

He's fine this morning. Had a bagel and coffee for breakfast. I also reported the incident to the state health dept.
That was a good idea, with all the issues with vegetables the past couple of years it is better to be safe then sorry...
 

strange_wings

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My in-laws do something that absolutely drives me nuts - they'll use those prebagged salads right out of the bag and never wash the greens first! Possible bacteria contamination aside, can you imagine how much pesticide residue could be leftover?

If the dressing was a new bottle you may want to consider that suspect, too. Will they be taking the leftover salad mix?
 
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addiebee

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Originally Posted by strange_wings

My in-laws do something that absolutely drives me nuts - they'll use those prebagged salads right out of the bag and never wash the greens first! Possible bacteria contamination aside, can you imagine how much pesticide residue could be leftover?

If the dressing was a new bottle you may want to consider that suspect, too. Will they be taking the leftover salad mix?
Mea culpa! I am also bad about that. And I have now learned my lesson. I've been w/ Doug almost 5 years and I have never known him to barf. He has had suspected food poisoning once before since we have been together. After eating at a local restaurant, he got sick - just from the back end. Again, I was fine. We think it was the cole slaw he ate - mayonnaise, you know.

The State Health Dept. and now County Health have taken statements, but so far, no one wants the potentially offending bagged greens.
 

strange_wings

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Toss 'em or wash 'em.
Or depending on the type of greens, cook them.

The usual reason salmonella and e. coli get on veggies to begin with is either how they're fertilized (depends on the country they're from) or from workers going in the fields..


I think we're actually very spoiled by how much of our veggies we can usually safely eat raw. In some countries they have to cook most of them first to kill bacteria.
 
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addiebee

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Originally Posted by strange_wings

Toss 'em or wash 'em.
Or depending on the type of greens, cook them.

The usual reason salmonella and e. coli get on veggies to begin with is either how they're fertilized (depends on the country they're from) or from workers going in the fields..

I think we're actually very spoiled by how much of our veggies we can usually safely eat raw. In some countries they have to cook most of them first to kill bacteria.
Uuuuhhhh... do you mean what I THINK you mean? As in, no time for a potty break? Or their hands are dirty... I mean, that kind of makes sense.
 

weldrwomn

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Hubby and I have one of those salad spinners - very nice. Every day for lunch we take spinach salads and also carrots and celery. We wash all of it after taking it out of the box or bag. We get the large container of spinach in the boxes made from corn plastic and we (read I) wash it on Sunday and put it in a large rubbermaid container and we do the same with all the other produce even if it says it has already been washed. We don't want to take any chances.
 

kittkatt

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Originally Posted by AddieBee

Uuuuhhhh... do you mean what I THINK you mean? As in, no time for a potty break? Or their hands are dirty... I mean, that kind of makes sense.
Originally Posted by CatMom2Wires

They poo in the fields...sigh.

Pretty disgusting, isn't it?


There is a salmonella outbreak occurring right now. I posted a link about it to inform peeps several days ago. Let me find it and I'll post it for you.
 

dragoriana

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Originally Posted by AddieBee

I made a lovely dinner last night. Pasta e Fagioli, garlic bread and a lovely green salad. Except - within 4 hours of eating that dinner, my boyfriend got violently ill. I mean, vomiting and diarrhea. I had a tiny tummy ache, but nothing bad.

He's fine this morning. So, I suspect the bagged greens. And they are going right into the garbage! I don't even want to try to salvage them (ie: rinsing them a couple times.)

Thank goodness my mom didn't have any - at 84 and frail - not a good thing to have happen. Or maybe I will call the county health dept and ask if I should take some action re: possible contamination.

I know there have been problems with bagged greens in the past, but I have never had an issue with them - until now.
Aww i'm sorry to hear that, i've had food poisoning a couple of times from takeout and i know it's horrid.

You should try growing your own lettuce and tomatoes. Even a tiny backyard can hold them. if you have more room you could have cucumber and other things as well. At least that way you have a supply for months and you KNOW what been on them.
 

kiwideus

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Originally Posted by Dragoriana

Aww i'm sorry to hear that, i've had food poisoning a couple of times from takeout and i know it's horrid.

You should try growing your own lettuce and tomatoes. Even a tiny backyard can hold them. if you have more room you could have cucumber and other things as well. At least that way you have a supply for months and you KNOW what been on them.
Yep, I have a teeny weeny garden - 1m by 1m - and so far I have growing are corn, tomatoes, broccoli and cucumbers. I did have lettuce but the birds ate them.


It gives a person great satisfaction seeing your own veggies grow, and you know what has been near it
I have about 10 tomatoes in the early stages and the broccoli have beautiful new florets growing as well as 2 new cucumbers. The corn has husks so I am not sure what is happening with it
 
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addiebee

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I would have to do porch planters. My mom would never let me tear up the lawn in the back for a garden. And for some reason, lettuce didn't grow well when my dad tried many, many years ago. In the summertime, I get fieldgrown lettuce from the farmers market here... and I do WASH it!!!

I do grow basil in the summer - easy-peasy-can't-kill-it-for-trying... and good for cooking and tomato-basil-mozarella salad.

One year, my boyfriend tried growing habanero peppers in a planter outside but the animals got them. We think it was a squirrel(s). Each little pepper had a bucktooth bite mark in it... and we had images of the little critter hopping around saying, "hot, hot, hot!!!" And then trying another!
 

dragoriana

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Originally Posted by AddieBee

I would have to do porch planters. My mom would never let me tear up the lawn in the back for a garden. And for some reason, lettuce didn't grow well when my dad tried many, many years ago. In the summertime, I get fieldgrown lettuce from the farmers market here... and I do WASH it!!!

I do grow basil in the summer - easy-peasy-can't-kill-it-for-trying... and good for cooking and tomato-basil-mozarella salad.

One year, my boyfriend tried growing habanero peppers in a planter outside but the animals got them. We think it was a squirrel(s). Each little pepper had a bucktooth bite mark in it... and we had images of the little critter hopping around saying, "hot, hot, hot!!!" And then trying another!
Hey, you know you don't have to rip into the ground for a garden! There are no dig gardens. You can make them natural with hay bales for walls and layering newspaper, soil, blood n bone etc, or you can build up a simple garden with sleepers and pickets and simply fill it in with fresh soil That way not only do you not have to dig, but it is at a height where you can sit on the wall comfortably to do weeding and picking
 

swampwitch

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What brand of greens did you buy?

I buy Earthbound Farm organic pre-washed salad greens in the winter... i don't wash them again. They seem to be a reputable company, I found this about their pre-washed greens:

http://www.ebfarm.com/Products/QualityFoodSafety.aspx

I thought you can't wash off e-coli anyway.

(I'm sorry to hear that your husband got sick.)
 

mbjerkness

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Originally Posted by SwampWitch

What brand of greens did you buy?

I buy Earthbound Farm organic pre-washed salad greens in the winter... i don't wash them again. They seem to be a reputable company, I found this about their pre-washed greens:

http://www.ebfarm.com/Products/QualityFoodSafety.aspx

I thought you can't wash off e-coli anyway.

(I'm sorry to hear that your husband got sick.)
I buy the same kind as you. I do wash them. I am just in the habit of doing it. I wash everything. I used to eat a lot of sprouts, until I found out they are widely contaminated. we buy all of our root veggies from a local farmer. He doesn't use and fertilizers, or chemicals. I admittly picked one of his carrots fresh from the feild last fall, and just started eating it. He allows us to pick our own. If we chose too. the kids love it
 

strange_wings

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Originally Posted by SwampWitch

I buy Earthbound Farm organic pre-washed salad greens in the winter... i don't wash them again.
Almost all the bag or containers of salad mixes I've seen say pre-washed. Apparently it's not washed well enough since people still get salmonella and other bacteria from a lot of these.

I'm not sure what it's called, but my in-laws have some little three tier container for growing sprouts. You grow them in water. For those that like sprouts, and want a safer alternative try finding one of these.
I've also see those Aero-garden things and wondered if they're any good. Chances are if you get the proper grow lights you could grow greens indoors in the winter in regular containers..
 
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addiebee

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Originally Posted by Dragoriana

Hey, you know you don't have to rip into the ground for a garden! There are no dig gardens. You can make them natural with hay bales for walls and layering newspaper, soil, blood n bone etc, or you can build up a simple garden with sleepers and pickets and simply fill it in with fresh soil That way not only do you not have to dig, but it is at a height where you can sit on the wall comfortably to do weeding and picking
Fencing or raised tiered stuff is prohibited in this neighborhood. My mom wanted to put in a raised garden for my dad after he had a stroke. She had to petition the township and the neighborhood voted it down.

I don't have much of a green thumb anyway....
 
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