Sick after eating "fresh" greens - glad I didn't feed it to the birds

[JornsBergenson]

Here's a cautionary tale. Both my son and I became sick after eating some kale and mustard greens that had been in the fridge. I'm so glad I didn't share it with the birds. The kale was precut and in a bag labelled "triple washed - no washing necessary". The mustard greens were from the organic section of the grocery store. Both had been in the fridge for over a week.
I washed the greens, pulled the few wilted leaves out and said to myself "looks okay - it'll be fine". I sautéed them in a pan with some s&p. They didn't taste great but didn't taste bad either. My son and I got sick a couple of hours later with painful gas and diarrhea. It wiped me out for a couple of days. That is the only thing we ate in common so I'm pretty sure it had to be the greens.

I love greens of all types and eat them daily. Now I'm leery. I found this on line: Lettuce, Other Leafy Greens, and Food Safety

There are many recommendations in the article above. I think the problem might have been the veggie drawer in the fridge. I need to wash the drawers out with soap and then keep the veggies in sealed containers rather than leaving them in the plastic bags from the store. Plus I tried to hang on the the veggies past the "fresh" point.

 

[ParrotNuts]

So sorry..............

 

[Hankmacaw]

I really recommend that all fresh fruit and vegetable be soaked in an F10 solution for 10+ minutes before serving to yourself or your bird.

 

[MommyBird]

With F10 so hard to get, I soak my fresh foods in vinegar solution for 15 min.
But what I decided to do for greens (which always look gross even at the market and only get uglier) is to grow them myself.
I do hydroponic gardening using an aerogarden indoors once the outdoor growing season is over.
They just keep growing until I pick them and give a rinse and feed.
They have not gone thru the food production and distribution systems, are not sitting in the refrig, but picked moments before use.
and I know they are safe.
AeroGarden: Indoor Gardens, Grow Lights, Seed Kits, & More is having great sales and the Sprout model is a great place to start.

 

[JornsBergenson]

I really recommend that all fresh fruit and vegetable be soaked in an F10 solution for 10+ minutes before serving to yourself or your bird.

With F10 so hard to get, I soak my fresh foods in vinegar solution for 15 min.

Got it. I'll be soaking our veggies from now on.

What about when making chop? The amount of veggies I bought yesterday could fill a medium size ice chest. I guess I could fill an actual ice chest and soak the veggies as part of the process of preparing chop.

I don't think any amount of soaking would have saved us from what we had. I think what made us sick was inside the stalks and leaves. Some of it was wilted and maybe a little slimy and I tried to save the parts that looked good.

But what I decided to do for greens (which always look gross even at the market and only get uglier) is to grow them myself.
I do hydroponic gardening using an aerogarden indoors once the outdoor growing season is over.

Hats off to you!!!! My wife has often talked about doing this. Need to do more research. Thanks for the link

 

[Birdbabe]

I wash all my fresh produce in lemon water..

 

[SweetPetit]

A friend of mine knew someone who worked in food inspection and discovered pre packaged greens at the very LEAST need to be rinsed with fresh water. They aren’t as sanitary as advertised

 

[finchly]

What about when making chop? The amount of veggies I bought yesterday could fill a medium size ice chest. I guess I could fill an actual ice chest and soak the veggies as part of the process of preparing chop.

Well, since I chop in batches, I also soak in the sinks in batches. Several types of veg go in each side of the kitchen sink, soak, rinse rinse rinse, remove to a colander to dry, repeat. Although using an ice chest does sound easier.