Washing washed lettuce

[wellyes]

Please help me settle a disagreement.

[c&j04]

Only because a family member is on anti-rejection meds. We take extra precautions with food safety.

[sariana]

I voted sometimes. I wash it when I am making salad for the family (or anyone else), but I admit I will eat pieces directly from the bag. But I make that choice for myself. I would not fail to wash it to serve to anyone else.

[echoesofspring]

I would wash for company, but I don't always do it for myself :)

Here's an article I remember hearing on NPR about it:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/04/20/151034145/rewash-that-pre-washed-bag-of-lettuce-dont-bother-probably

[infomama]

Always.....

[ehlana06]

I always do :)

[kep]

I don't usually, but I always feel guilty like I should. :ROTFLMAO:

[KDsMommy]

Nope, I sure don't.

[Mikey0709]

I definately dont! My husband is actually a produce manager at a grocery store and has taken MANY food safety courses. This stuff usually has been triple washed the best possible, and he agrees and studies show more bacteria is added and picked up from hands, countertops, sinks and bowls, and I agree. Washing usually adds contamination to an already sterile product. I know not everyone is, but I'm ok eating it out of the package.

[MSWR0319]

I always do. It grosses me out to not wash it. I've read the article that says you shouldn't, but I still do! DH never washes it because it says washed! Which is comical because DH is the biggest food critic ever when it comes to things like cleanliness and germs, bacteria, etc. then again, we're kinda strange. I will eat raw cookie dough, and he refuses. He thinks I'm going to get salmonella the minute I look at the cookie dough.

[KpbS]

Always even though my family thinks it's wacky.

[sntm]

Never. That's the whole reason I buy it. Otherwise cheaper to buy a head of lettuce

[pastrygirl]

I should, but I don't.

[amldaley]

Sometimes. If it says "triple washed", I may or may not. Otherwise, I do.

That said, I wash more often than not b/c I am allergic to the gas they puff in to the bags to preserve the greens. If I reach my hand inside the bag and it touches the plastic, I get a red rash. So, I figure I should be more careful.

[okinawama]

Nope. Never.

[KLD313]

Never. That's the whole reason I buy it. Otherwise cheaper to buy a head of lettuce

:yeahthat: Plus I'm lazy.

[speo]

I don't buy it because I fear it has E. coli.

[babyonway]

Nope I don't.

[BayGirl2]

Wasn't one of the big food poisoning outbreaks in recent years from bagged spinach? I don't think it was labeled 'triple washed' but people assumed it was clean and didn't wash it.

That said, I said sometimes because I usually do but I'm lazy occasionally. I also rarely buy bagged lettuce and when I do its usually the whole romaine hearts. Those say to wash them.

[lovebebes]

always do

[urbanmommy]

Never. That's the whole reason I buy it. Otherwise cheaper to buy a head of lettuce

Exactly! What's the point of spending more for the packaged stuff if you still are going to wash it?

Eta: if it doesn't say it's washed I usually wash it like with the romaine hearts. I think those already say they need to be washed.

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[teresah00]

Never. When I buy washed bags its for the convenience


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[essnce629]

Never. I'm way too lazy!

[daisymommy]

There's a reason for the times I buy bagged prewashed salad. I know I'll be lazy or uber short on time. No extra washing here!

[american_mama]

For the never washers, seriously, isn't there an e coli issue? Hasn't this come up before on BBB regarding baby carrots and everyone said of course they need to be washed?

I hate washing bagged salad, think it makes ti taste worse and don;t always do it, but I always think I should. If I am legitimately off the hook, let me know!

Also, if you don't use the bagged salad all at once, do you wash it if you use it 2ish days later? Sometimes it's looking a little raggedy then, but if we're desparate for a vegetable, I'll serve it. I wash it then to wash some early stages of slime off, but I still hate doing it. What about others?

[lizzywednesday]

It depends on how paranoid I am that week.

If I'm paranoid and I feel like digging out the salad spinner, I rinse.

If I'm not paranoid and I'm lazy, I don't rinse.

MIL always rinses. (FIL holds a Ph.D. in food science and it's one of his hang-ups. I usually figure if it's something FIL recommends, I probably ought to do it.)

[AnnieW625]

There's a reason for the times I buy bagged prewashed salad. I know I'll be lazy or uber short on time. No extra washing here!

:yeahthat: I also buy it for my lunches because it is much easier than chopping up lettuce at 6 am.

[mjs64]

Never. That's the whole reason I buy it. Otherwise cheaper to buy a head of lettuce

This! Why not buy a head of lettuce then?

[speo]

Does washing even remove all the E. coli if it is there? Doesn't a person need to ingest just a little E. coli to get sick? It is hard for me to believe that washing something like lettuce with lots of surface area and small pieces could get fully clean. Does anyone know for sure?

[boolady]

Does washing even remove all the E. coli if it is there? Doesn't a person need to ingest just a little E. coli to get sick? It is hard for me to believe that washing something like lettuce with lots of surface area and small pieces could get fully clean. Does anyone know for sure?

I thought that rinsing your lettuce wasn't going to remove E. coli if it's contaminated. I could very well be wrong.

[wellyes]

For the never washers, seriously, isn't there an e coli issue? Hasn't this come up before on BBB regarding baby carrots and everyone said of course they need to be washed?

I hate washing bagged salad, think it makes ti taste worse and don;t always do it, but I always think I should. If I am legitimately off the hook, let me know!

Also, if you don't use the bagged salad all at once, do you wash it if you use it 2ish days later? Sometimes it's looking a little raggedy then, but if we're desparate for a vegetable, I'll serve it. I wash it then to wash some early stages of slime off, but I still hate doing it. What about others?

Some studies say there is fecal contamination on bagged lettuce. Other studies say that the contamination comes from your kitchen, and the bagged lettuce is fine.

To me, if 60% of us are regularly just eating straight from the bag and not getting sick, that says something.

Personally, I don't. If it's getting old, I sort all the questionable bits out. If it's at the "almost at the verge of kinda getting slimy" stage, I throw it out. DH will eat it after he rinses it.

[boolady]

See link wherein Sara Moulton explains, though I don't know the basis of her research, that prewashed, bagged greens are cleaner than ones you clean yourself.
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/OnCall/story?id=2836403&page=1 (http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/OnCall/story?id=2836403&page=1)

[Myira]

Didn't read all the PP, but I always do and DH does not. I just cannot not wash especially since I read about fecal contamination.