The farmers now, and have for quite a while, provided sanitary facilities for their workers.

I used to buy the bags of salad every once in a while but the last one I bought was mouldy. Never again. I would rather cut up my own lettuce and fixings

I almost always buy boxed organic baby lettuce. Though I inspect every leaf because once I found a piece of baby spinach covered in sticky bug eggs, yuck.

Chi, I once bought a pre-made salad for lunch. While I was eating it, I stuck my fork into a root ball that still had dirt, rocks and who knows what else clinging to it. I returned to the market to show the deli department and they couldn't refund my money and hustle me out of the store fast enough!

What she said was she didn't think bagged products that said they were washed on the bag really had been washed. Hence the comment about dirt being visible inside the bags.

I bought the big bag of romaine lettuce heads the last time I was at Costco. I tossed five of them tonight. Better safe than sorry.

It appears to have been edited. My recollection is can't be washed...hence the comments that followed.

"many field workers (in the strawberry and flower fields) were living in the fields"

As rae said, this is from the 80s and proper sanitation facilities for farm workers have been required for quite awhile. External contamination, if any, can be washed off.

I recall two incidents of contamination of spinach and other greens eaten raw traced back to animals. In one case, some fields had had regular visits from feral hogs and (I think) deer and the contamination came from fecal matter in the fields. In another, the well water used to wash the produce after picking came from ground water that had been contaminated by fecal matter runoff from a neighboring farm. I think a dairy farm.

Think Suzieque quoted the whole thing, word for word.

I believe I read during an outbreak a few years ago that wild boars were getting into the fields and causing the e. coli outbreak. I wonder whether this still happens?

Ava said "Think Suzieque quoted the whole thing, word for word".

In my post I was only asking Mamapinky to clarify why she said "I don't buy pre bagged as it can't be washed."

It's not important - but I was just curious to know if she's aware of something I'm not.

I think it was edited and not noted as such. I recall thinking why, and doing a search.

I keep checking at Target and HEB, romaine still on the shelves. We had an old fashioned iceberg wedge last night!

"Is it only romaine lettuce?

Yes. So far only romaine lettuce is known to be affected, and only romaine grown in Yuma, Arizona. However, CBS News reports that around 90 percent of all lettuce grown in the United States between November and March comes from the Yuma region.

Has the contaminated lettuce been recalled?

No. At the time of this article, there has not been any recall related to this outbreak."

https://www.theblaze.com/news/2018/04/24/heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-the-romaine-lettuce-e-coli-outbreak

No official recall, so the stores can continue to sell.

I went to a chain in our area, Mariano's. They were selling the bagged salads again, and there was a sign saying that the romaine lettuce was not from the affected region. I bought some bagged salads (sunflower crisp), and added chopped green cauliflower. Yum!

I bought a spinach salad this past weekend, but about half the bagged salads were gone off the shelves.

I am so over romaine lettuce. I never buy it. Where are the inspectors?

Like Scott, my local store chain has signs up saying their romain is from California, not Arizona.

In the summer, I grow my own mesclun or salad mix seeds in a small trough in my backyard in Long Island NY. Just a nod to the days of old when Long Island was an agricultural area, famous for potatoes. not a built-up suburb of New York City with CVS rite Aids and Walgreens everywhere. v

I did not edit any of my post. I said bagged salad can't be washed. That's what I still see on my above comment.

How do you wash premade bagged salads? Apparently I'm missing something.

Its all shredded, cut, torn pieces. Some of the bags have finely shredded carrots. Rinsing under water is not the same as actually washing. I understand rinsing can remove loose soils, but still that's rinsing not washing. I use a veg/fruit brush and Dr Bronners unscented to wash veggies with a good rinse. Thats what I ment about washing. Otherwise its just rinsing.

Just for the record the last time I checked Dr Bronners website says its safe to use as a veggie/fruit wash and as a toothpaste. Perhaps its changed so i'll have to check that.

And what about the infected romaine still in the stores..pressed up against other lettuces. The bacteria can after all spread to other veggies next to it or even the produce person stocking the shelves touching the romaine than with contaminated hands touching other produce. (I know no amount of washing is removing this bacteria)

I had a dozen eggs in the frig which matched the codes on the egg recall. I didn't use any the carton was full but went to make a cake yesterday and checked the carton first. Great Value from Walmart. Hubs was going to town so he stopped by Walmart for an exchange. They refused to exchange them or refund us instead saying if you think they are tainted throw them out.

I don't see how it is possible to use a brush and soap to scrub lettuce and other salad greens.

Here is a list of all the outbreaks, where they were and what they found. Sixteen states are a lot of states! It's interesting to me that it is so widespread and it's getting worse, not better. Or maybe they can trace things better than before?

Duly noted. I stand corrected.

I think they can trace much better now with all the computers. It doesn't surprise me how far everything ships. I get fresh grapes from South America all winter when ours are not in season.

So far, the only romaine with a problem is from the Yuma, AZ area. If it is from California it is fine.

I have never put soap on any fruit or vegetable. I use a vegetable brush on Idaho potatoes if I am baking them.

Bobbi. A soft brush. A drop of diluted Bronners and a cold rinse. Very easy. Nice and crisp.

Whether whole or precut, I've never heard a recommendation that salad greens or lettuce should be washed with soap. There's probably a reason and it's likely because it's not necessary or prudent because the risk is nil. Tainted products are a different story.

If you thought it essential to accomplish something in an anti-bacterial sense (which, again, I believe isn't the case), you'd use a bath in a vinegar solution. But again, that's a recommendation I've never heard and I suspect I know why.

I prefer to buy nice whole lettuces, and take them apart leaf by leaf, washing (rinsing) each whole leaf under water. That way I know it's clean. Sometimes a lettuce that looks beautiful still has dirt or bugs hidden way down deep -- yikes. Same process for kale or collards, or other greens -- I do a leaf by leaf rinse and inspection.

When I'm eating prepared salads at a restaurant, or buying frozen chopped greens, I wonder if they did as good a job as I did. But, rarely do I see a problem so I just keep eating. (Maybe they bought from a greenhouse lettuce grower, where bugs and grit can be more tightly controlled.)

Washing is a personal decision of mine simply because I don't like putting fresh things in my mouth that I don't know how many people touched. Its no big deal I simply answered a question. Done.

Sure, your it's your choice. I hope you understand that when people talk about "washing" salad greens, they really mean rinsing. We all remain healthy by doing so or with what many do with bagged pre-cut stuff, by doing nothing at all.

I think many of us, if we were to see how food is handled in processing plants, would not want to eat it.

Elmer. I think I already explained why I wash my green and it had nothing to do with any exotic germs or staying healthy eating them.

Hm, are you using iceburg lettuce, mama? I guess romaine might be strong enough to be scrubbed too. I have been known to wash apples and other unpeeled fruits and vegetables with a diluted natural soap.

I mostly use baby greens so I couldn't scrub them if I wanted to. I have a salad spinner and I soak them for a few minutes, rinse and spin. The lettuce stays fresh in there for a few days.

I also like the butter lettuce with the roots. I use those for lettuce wraps and lettuce tacos sometimes

Romaine yes, but lately I've had to use iceburg. I actually prefer iceburg. And generally I add spinach as a added green. I don't buy the others.

In the 60's the only lettuce available in the small towns that our family lived in was iceburg. I was married before I knew there was anything else. LOL. Dad had us core it, and then submerge in a bowl of salty water, then rinse in fresh water, because he said that got rid of bugs. I never saw one, but maybe he did growing up.

I just found out that my husband likes iceburg the best! I had no idea as I never buy it (I don't like it) and he eats the baby lettuces without complaint.

I never liked salad as a kid but now I realize it was because it was always the bagged iceburg stuff with a few wilted carrot and cabbage strips, along with bottled, sugary, fat-free dressing.

As a kid in the 50s we had only iceberg lettuce. And we never washed it! There was never any dirt inside and I guess we treated it as we did Cabbage -- does anybody wash cabbage? No. And how about this, a popular 'salad' in the 50s was that iceberg lettuce wedge covered in dressing. I doubt that anybody washed that wedge. How could they? These days I spray vegetables with pure vinegar, wait a couple of minutes, then rinse.

Thanks for clarifying, Mamapinky.

That "wedge salad" has been making a comeback in restaurants in the past decade.

I stopped buying iceberg after I read that it is much lower in nutrients compared to dark greens.

Yes, with cabbage we remove the outer leaves, cut in half or quarters then rinse (not wash) .

Anyone ever made or eaten a limestone salad?

Yep I remove a few outter leaves of cabbage. I remind myself hands can't essily get into the under leaves. LOL

What is it Scott?

ETA: I googled it, sounds good. Do you have a favorite recipe?

Susieque....Your very welcome.

I never had it. It was referenced in a movie. I also looked It up and it could be a southern dish. Just curious.

They're back on the shelves at local stores. Friend asked produce person if it was safe to eat now. He said "I wouldn't" She didn't buy. There are a few varieties of bagged that don't have romaine in it.

Yes we removed the outer leaves of both cabbage and iceberg but we always thought of iceberg as being very 'tight' like cabbage and thus not dirty inside. never found dirt inside either. I also stopped buying iceberg for awhile because I heard there were 'fewer nutrients' but really it's full of fiber and it makes a good addition to other greens and I do find it kind of nicely sweet too.

One of my favorite salad greens, that no one mentioned, is arugula. It so quick and easy to grow at home.

I asked produce guy at our grocery and he said their stuff comes from CA and that it's ok to eat. But to be on the safe side, we bought ice berg and baby spinach and mixed them as a substitute for spring mix.