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The list of recent food recalls is growing longer with some veggies imported from Mexico. NPR's Allison Aubrey has tips for minimizing your risk of getting sick.
ALLISON AUBREY, BYLINE: When the CDC announced an investigation of yet another foodborne illness outbreak - this time, cucumbers contaminated with salmonella - it was the latest in what food scientist Don Schaffner of Rutgers University says is a string of bad luck.
DON SCHAFFNER: Carrots, onions, Boar's Head. There was an E. coli-in-ground-beef outbreak. So yeah, this is more than typical.
AUBREY: Schaffner says there's no reason to think these outbreaks are linked. They're different foods sourced from different regions and caused by different pathogens. The new investigation points to cucumbers, including those recalled from SunFed Produce. A total of 68 people in 19 states have been sickened. Eighteen have been hospitalized. Martin Bucknavage, who's a food scientist at Penn State, says there are several factors to help explain how quickly contaminated foods can be linked to clusters of sickness in these recent outbreaks.
MARTIN BUCKNAVAGE: Our detection and our tracing back to the source is much better than it used to be.
AUBREY: And this is helpful because recalls can happen faster, and contaminated produce can be removed from store shelves and tossed out of our refrigerators. Linda Harris is a food scientist at UC Davis. She says there are steps people can take to limit their risk. She says, typically, salmonella will not multiply on the outer surface of a cucumber. But if it gets into the flesh, it can, especially if it's too warm. So keeping cut produce cool is key.
LINDA HARRIS: Once you cut cucumbers or any kind of produce - once you cut it, remember, if you're not going to eat it right away, to get it into the refrigerator within a couple of hours.
AUBREY: To a certain extent, it is possible to rinse the bacteria off by rubbing the produce under running water. Harris says you shouldn't use any kind of soap, and it's best not to soak produce in a bowl because if there were salmonella on one piece, soaking it would contaminate the water and potentially all of the produce in the bowl. Rutgers' Don Schaffner says peeling can help reduce bacteria, but it's not a guarantee, as some bacteria may transfer from the peel to the flesh.
SCHAFFNER: And so peeling is not a reliable way of eliminating the risk of salmonella on cucumbers.
AUBREY: Heat can kill the bacteria, which is how salmonella poisoning is best prevented in meat. But with fresh produce, rinsing and refrigeration are your best bets.
Allison Aubrey, NPR News.
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