Food-borne illnesses can be caused by improperly washed vegetables.
The knife and cutting board should be sterilised after cutting the veggies and fruits.
We all know about the satisfaction of whipping up a fresh, crisp salad bowl and feeling super proud about our healthy choices. Do you know just because it’s green doesn’t mean it’s always good for our health? While it may seem like the perfect choice for fitness enthusiasts, no one really talks about the downside of what looks like a bowl of good health. Let’s take a look at some side effects of salads.
1. According to reports, if the salad is not prepared properly or if it is left without proper handling, harmful bacteria can grow in it and cause health issues.
2. Food-borne illnesses can be caused by improperly washing vegetables, germs from undercooked meats, and improper storage of salad.
3. Make sure the vegetables and utensils you use are well washed to avoid any damage from eating the salad. Store salads properly. It is wrong to store them with uncooked meat. If you don’t follow these things, harmful bacteria like E coli, Salmonella, and Listeria can grow. These microbes can cause symptoms such as abdominal pain, diarrhoea and vomiting.
Apart from this, let’s now know what some precautionary tips to avoid the spoilage of salad:
1. Food contamination can happen on the farm, in the way it is transported from there to the market, in the vegetable shop, or in our home kitchen. So washing vegetables and fruits thoroughly in running water before cooking will help remove dirt, pesticides, and bacteria from them.
2. Bacteria can easily move from one surface to another. So, if you use the same knife and cutting board you used to cut other fruit and vegetables to add to a salad, microbes can be transferred. So make sure to clean the knife and cutting board.
3. The knife and cutting board should be sterilised after cutting the veggies and fruits. Perishable greens like tomatoes and avocados should be refrigerated and eaten within a few days of purchase. Bacteria can grow very quickly at room temperature. So keep salads at a cool temperature until you eat them. Store the salad in an airtight container to ensure it stays fresh and doesn’t get spoiled easily.
4. Microorganisms can also form in the cheese, nuts, raw eggs, or unpasteurised dairy products you use for salad dressings. So such food items should be handled properly. It is enough to add these ingredients a few minutes before eating the salad.
Salad is a wonderful food for our health, but if you don’t handle it properly, it can be dangerous.