How to choose, wash and preserve fruits and vegetables to avoid poisoning by salmonella, e.coli or listeria

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Indispensable in our diet, fruits and vegetables provide us with vitamins, minerals, trace elements, fiber, water, helping us to maintain our ideal weight.

As if that were not enough, the only ones that contain fat are avocado and olives and they are the 'good' ones.

However, fruits and vegetables

or by some chemicals.

And this is something that can happen in any of the phases of a process that starts

(in soils with fecal contamination from animals or fertilizers, inadequate phytosanitary products, untreated irrigation water, harvesting machines or unclean warehouses, workers who do not meet the standards, transfer to markets without hygiene) to the last link in the chain,

.

According to data handled by TK Home Solutions,

.

The first thing we should avoid is falling into the temptation of

who exhibits an appetizing fruit or vegetable: we do not know its origin, the irrigation water it has had, the soil in which it has grown... We

.

Plus:

- Discard stores where the

or where fruits and vegetables are exposed to the sun.

- Choose pieces

, with the brightness, color and appearance of each variety.

- If you buy cut or bagged vegetables or fruit, make sure

and respect the conservation instructions.

- Half watermelons or half melons must be freshly cut, with firm flesh, they must be covered with

and, preferably, refrigerated.

- In the shopping cart or shopping bags,

such as chicken, meat, shellfish or fish, and from cleaning products.

It must be taken into account that vegetables contaminated by pathogenic bacteria can make those who consume them seriously ill and that the danger is not seen: these bacteria are not like those of decomposition, which cause a bad smell or taste.

The experts at TK Home Solutions recall the security measures to avoid risks when eating these essential products in the diet:

1. Wash your hands before and after

This simple gesture, which we must do often like

, is also important before eating and preparing food.

The hands can have germs that are transferred to the fruits and vegetables that we are going to handle.

2. Always wash the fruits, also before peeling them

It is necessary to wash them not only those that are eaten with the skin, such as apples or apricots, but also oranges, peaches, etc.

In this way, dirt or microbes are prevented from entering the fruit when peeling it.

It is enough to put them under the tap, without soap or bleach or other disinfectant products and just before eating them.

3. Remove damaged parts

If there are bruised areas, with any damage or holes, remove them with a knife after washing.

On lettuce, cabbage, etc., the outer leaves should be removed.

If mold appears, the entire piece must be thrown away.

4. Dry them

Once washed, wipe them with kitchen paper or a clean cloth.

5. Use a brush

Fruits and vegetables with firm flesh, such as watermelon or cucumber, should be rubbed with a specific brush.

6. Do not rewash those that are already washed

It is not necessary to rewash packaged or cut fruits and vegetables that expressly indicate that they have already been washed or disinfected.

7. Aromatic herbs

Do not forget the parsley, coriander or basil.

It is important to wash them the same as the rest of the fruits and vegetables.

8. Salads

The foods that we eat raw in a salad, such as lettuce or spinach, and that we are going to consume with the skin, such as cucumber or zucchini, must be washed under running water.

Also, if in doubt, we can then submerge them for 5 minutes in drinking water with a small teaspoon (4.5 milliliters) of bleach for every 3 liters of water.

After that time, rinse abundantly with drinking water.

Be careful, the bleach used must indicate on its label that it is suitable for disinfecting drinking water.

Then, dry with a kitchen centrifuge or on absorbent paper.

9. Cut, chop, chop

To make a fruit salad or present the fruits at the table, you have to cut them on a different board than the one used for meat or chicken.

Do not use the same knife for fruit or salad as for other foods.

10. Save leftovers

Salads age poorly and do not freeze well.

If they have added egg, chicken, ham, tuna or pasta, they should be consumed before they spend 3 days in the fridge.

11. Canned

In vegetables and fruits packed in cans or glass jars, such as peaches or pineapples, it is important to clean the lid of the container, check that it is well closed and not damaged, its expiration date (the moment until which the food can consumed safely) or the best-before date (the moment until which it retains its quality and organoleptic properties).

12. Be careful when traveling

If you travel to countries of dubious hygiene, it is essential to refrain from consuming all kinds of raw vegetables and unpeeled fruits.

12. Refrigerate in conditions

Cut, peeled or precooked fruits and vegetables must be refrigerated as soon as possible and always separated from the rest of the food, both cooked and raw.

In addition, we must store them in the refrigerator in less cold areas.

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