Try finding a local source (farmer's market, friend's garden) for your cucumbers, then make sure they are thoroughly washed and rinsed before slicing (which is what you should already be doing with any source of produce). Anything that has contact with the ground (including melons and windfall fruit) needs to be thoroughly washed before consumption. I use a homemade vegetable spray wash (recipe from Rich Food Poor Food - by Jayson Carlton, PhD and Mira Carlton, CN):

1 c. water

1 c. white vinegar

1 T. baking soda

juice of half a lemon

-Mix ingredients in a tall pitcher to allow space for baking soda's "foam eruption" that occurs after vinegar is added.

-Store in an empty spray bottle.

-Spray on fruit/vegetable, wait 10-minutes, and wash off with cool water.

Also from the book.... A study by Cook's Illustrated examined four different cleaning techniques for produce.

1. A diluted vinegar solution followed by rinsing with cold water.

2. Antibacterial soap

3. A water scrub with a brush

4. Rinsed with water

The results showed that the scrub brush with water removed 85% of unwanted bacteria (a little more than water alone), but the vinegar rinse removed 98% of bacteria on the surface of fresh fruits and vegetables. The study recommended against the use of antibacterial soap because of the ingredient triclosan. This agent, found in many antibacterial soaps, is believed to have the potential to eventually breed drug-resistant bacteria. If you want the most benefit from washing, it looks like water alone isn't enough.

-Grainlady

Grainlady, I'm reading their new book "The micronutrient miracle". I'll have to check out their other book. Not sure what the "miracle" is yet, have to keep reading.

Grainlady, I appreciate really washing cucumbers, and this is easy enough to do, but how can one really scrub spinach? I'm referring to the health issues surrounding spinach contamination about a decade ago. (At least that veggie is often consumed cooked... - but not always.)

I had a serious (almost deadly) case of salmonella 20+ years ago. I got it from eating undercooked liver--and I haven't eaten liver since. I remember hallucinating in the hospital from the high fever, and I remember being able to hear but not able to move or speak. I was in bed for 2 weeks, and there were times when I couldn't even imagine being well again.

I agree . . . it's hard to imagine dying from eating a cucumber. My family has been eating our homegrown cukes all summer, but that's coming to a close soon. Caution, caution . . .

Many of the recent veggie contaminations have been traced to a variety of producer handling problems, including contamination at processing plants and contact by people with inadequate bathroom facilities. One case, maybe the one artemis refers to, was spinach grown by a large producer about an hour from where I live that became contaminated with E coli. The source turned out to be the unnoticed presence of animal fecal matter in the fields. That contaminated the growing plants and also contaminated the well used to obtain water for the processing plant. .

At some point, paranoia needs to be balanced with practicality. Most people don't have the time or interest to "disinfect" food as if it were about to enter the sterile field of an operating room. Nor is that required in most cases. As far as produce eaten raw is concerned (a very different story than meat) the number of deaths and illnesses are relatively few and the risk is very low.

For meat and other animal products, you can contribute to your own safety by buying by quality, not by price.

Grainlady

Are you saying this vinegar vegetable wash kills salmonella and E. Coli?

In the winter, when the local supply has dried up, (or molded actually) I love TJ's organic Persian cukes that come in a package of 5 or so small ones. I am always a bit conflicted over buying them tho' as they come from Mexico (as I believe these recalled ones did) and I do not have confidence in food inspection practices in Mexico. Our other most palatable source is English cukes from Canada, which are hydroponically grown, but they also had problems with contamination (a serious problem many years ago) and I've never lost my unease with buying them. So I think I'll just forgo cukes in the winter.

lucillle-

I'm not saying it. But in a post above I am quoting from a book who used the information from tests done for Cook's Illustrated.

We consume bacteria all the time -- and generally without any problems. The acid in our stomach destroys it. It's when the bacteria has been under the "right" conditions (moisture, temperature, oxygen - or the lack of oxygen) to become a toxin that it becomes a food safety issue.

It's not the inside of the cucumber (or a cantaloupe as another good example) that has the bacteria, it's generally on the outside surface after being in contact with contaminated water, soil, human cross-contamination.

People who don't wash, or don't thoroughly wash, their produce, increase the potential for bacteria growth under the right conditions. That quick splash under the tap water isn't getting the job done, although water alone (according to the test) does a pretty good job. Therefore, when they slice the cucumber or cantaloupe (or other food item), the bacteria transfers to the inside via the knife they use. Or even from cross-contamination if they have the bacteria on their hands (example: after handling raw chicken). Left under conditions where the bacteria has a chance to grow, it can become a toxin. With something like a cucumber or cantaloupe, if there is bacteria present on the unwashed skin, the bacteria can become a toxin from the food being left in the "danger zone" (between 40°F and 140°F) for too long. That can be indoors, outdoors, or even in your refrigerator. Be sure to check the temperature of your refrigerator because it could be in the danger zone. Refrigeration doesn't prevent bacteria growth, it just slows it down.

Vinegar has been used as an effective sanitizer. For more information, including effectiveness on salmonella and E. Coli: http://www.ehowtowiki.com/list_7374655_types-bacteria-killed-vinegar.html

-Grainlady

I've been preaching this for years! It's important to rinse your produce, period! It doesn't matter where the heck you got it.

I use the water/vinegar treatment. Fruits and vegetables with a rind or tough skin get cleaned with a vegetable brush.

Vinegar is inexpensive enough to be used generously and frequently.

While the effectiveness of using vinegar as an anti-bacterial is widely accepted, the necessity of using it to wash produce isn't.

I live in an enthusiastic fresh veggie/salad consuming area (as many others here do) and most people I know do little more than a quick rinse. I think the intent is to remove dirt, not pathogens. Some do even less, eating fruits and veggies unrinsed right from the package or basket.

Why? Because the incidence of illness from contaminated produce is very, very low. So most people's attitude is, "Why bother?" Some feel otherwise, including those of you who have posted above and are happy with whatever cleaning process you follow. As far as I'm concerned, both extremes have their reasons, I myself have opted for the "do less, low risk" perspective. No one I know has ever gotten ill from contaminated produce, maybe if that were different, I would change my approach.

I use a peroxide and water bath to clean my veggies and fruit. I will probably stick with this one but I will put in a spritz bottle in the future which I never thought of before.

Cookie8-

I have issues using peroxide. Not that it isn't effective, but other issues.

1. The first issue is the shelf life. Unopened it will last about a year, but only 30-45 days after the seal is broken. So the effectiveness of the peroxide will be compromised the longer the bottle has been opened.

2. As soon as peroxide is exposed to air (just by opening the bottle and removing the sealed top, it begins to turn to water. Once again, leaving a question about it's effectiveness if it doesn't get used quickly.

3. If you contaminate the contents of the bottle (dipping your finger into it or even a cotton swab or cottonball), the effectiveness is compromised.

4. An important lesson I teach in home food storage - vinegar has an almost indefinite shelf-life.

5. Make vinegar a DIY project.... I've been dehydrating apples and I use the peels and cores to make homemade vinegar using something that would normally be tossed into the trash or compost, providing a good resource for free (or nearly free) vinegar. ;-)

-Grainlady

That's too bad about the shelf life as I don't care for the smell of vinegar so whenever I do my cleaning I do other methods. Actually, grainlady, I saw post one day in the cleaning forum and you said to use 1 tsp of cornstarch in a bucket of water to clean glass. I've been using that ever since.

I am curious about the peroxide thing as I use it in my ears when I have an earache and it always fizzes on application. Would this mean it is still working? It doesn't fizz when I don't have an earache or pretty clean ears.

Cookie8-

I found the glass cleaner formula on the Money Saving Tips forum years ago. It's been my favorite ever since :-).

Perhaps this will help answer the "fizz" issue.

Source: http://chemistry.about.com/od/medicalhealth/f/Why-Does-Hydrogen-Peroxide-Bubble-On-A-Wound.htm

Have you ever wondered why hydrogen peroxide bubbles on a cut or wound, yet
doesn't bubble on unbroken skin? Here's a look at the chemistry behind why
hydrogen peroxide bubbles and what it means when it doesn't bubble.

Answer: Hydrogen peroxide bubbles when it comes into contact
with an enzyme called catalase. Most cells in the body contain catalase, so when
the tissue is damaged, the enzyme is released and becomes available to react
with the peroxide.

Hydrogen peroxide bubbles when it comes into contact with an enzyme called
catalase. Most cells in the body contain catalase, so when the tissue is
damaged, the enzyme is released and becomes available to react with the
peroxide.

Catalase allows hydrogen
peroxide (H2O2 to be broken down into water
(H2O) and oxygen (O2). The bubbles you see when you pour
oxygen on a cut are bubbles of oxygen gas. Blood, cells, and some bacteria
(e.g., staphylococcus) contain catalase, but it is not found on the surface of
your skin so pouring peroxide on unbroken skin will not cause bubbles to form.
Also, because it is so reactive, hydrogen peroxide has a shelf life once it has been opened, so if you don't
see bubbles form when peroxide is applied to an infected wound or bloody cut,
there is a chance your peroxide is no longer active.

-Grainlady

So I can assume that as long as it bubbles it is active then? Good to know, thanks.