sonni1, I know. It's like they're trying to kill us all. I think it's time we started growing most of our food here in this country again. Sure, it's nice to have tropical fruits and veggies all year long, but I've begun to only buy things I know are in season or that are grown locally or nearby, or at least in the US, although that's not even a guarantee of safety.

I never thought I'd feel like I was in danger eating food grown in the US, but the water is so polluted now that just watering them brings danger.

I was just having this conversation with family the other day. They were saying that they were getting afraid to eat with all the recalls. At 1 point I said I haven't had any recalls from my back yard. Of course they are the same people that think I'm nuts for growing as much as I can. And not a long time ago they told me that I shouldn't be gardening because the grocery store is right up the road. I find it funny that they will say things like that while eating something I grew.

" At 1 point I said I haven't had any recalls from my back yard. "

My point exactly!

The only time that I eat lettuce is when I grow them myself, they do have a limited window to grow them in the garden but I get to eat greens for a longer period of time. And after that when no longer available in the garden, I switch to a different kind of salads.

This time is avocado salads for me and I have plenty even to share!

Silvia, do you grow sprouts in jars, or micro/mini greens in trays? Mini greens are delicious, and you can grow them all year around indoors or on a shady porch.

I wish I could get some of your avocados. I love them so much! I even love -- dare I say it -- avocado toast. I think I have a Boomer body and a Millenial mind. LOL

Me too.

I’ve told the story of going to a farm stand where one could buy freshly harvested, washed 3 times spinach.

I watch the worker do his thing, which consisted of adding water three times w/O ever changing previous wash water in the sink. Sink itself didn’t look too clean either. Ugh

But other than chipotle, how come there’s never talk of contaminated salad in restaurants or salad bars, at least not that I’m aware. But I’m nervous about the whole topic.

bossyvossy - UGH! I don't mind picking my own greens at a u-pick, but I always wash them myself, first in soapy water, then in a vinegar water rinse, then in fresh water. Now THAT is triple washing.

Deb, I grow a lot of micro greens in trays, they grow quick! They are good to put on top of a finished dish or in a sandwich. And I can use the old seeds.

Silvia, I buy a bunch of whatever lettuce or greens seeds are left at Dollar General every year when they mark the cheap seeds down and use those for my micro/mini greens. I do the true greens (collards, mustard, kale, etc.) as mini greens, which take a week or so longer than micro greens, but they're so yummy.

FWIW, I understand that with some pathogens, even thorough washing will not remove them.

From 1 of my favorite resources for food safety, barfblog.com - and article from 2016 :

"...And even a fourth or fifth wash would not reliably drive that number down, because some pathogens ensconce themselves inside the grooves of leaves like hermit crabs in shells, finding microscopic coves that are unreachable by liquids. Citing a 2007 paper published in Food Protection Trends, Chapman informs me that washing at home actually increases the risk of contamination because surfaces at home are likely crawling with germs. “I can’t do any better with the tools I have at my home than what the processor did. There’s no net risk reduction potential for me to wash. I am literally not doing anything by washing it at home,” he` dryly reports. The only way to amp up that log reduction would be to apply heat, which will produce a supersafe five- to seven-log reduction but also ruin your salad.

So triple washing is a tortured compromise with an inconvenient reality: Salad greens aren’t particularly conducive to consumer safety. From its structural ability to harbor pathogens, to its inability to withstand heat, to its wide surface area, to the fact that it is processed in large volumes (increasing the risk of cross-contamination), commercial lettuce is as outbreak-ready as a 14th-century marmot...."

http://www.barfblog.com/2016/04/rewashing-triple-washed-greens-at-home-can-only-increase-risk-of-foodborne-illness/

I have to wonder how many folks realize that it is our government that is responsible for the safety of our food supply. All the current talk (and actions as well) of removing 'onerous' regulations on businesses makes me concerned.

Exactly!