Vegan Foods Not Safe

Everyone believes that meats and meat byproducts are more dangerous than fruit, vegetables and nuts. They have heard that you shouldn’t put meat on the same cutting board as fruit and vegetables because the meat is likely to leave bacteria on the board. They have heard that meats have to be cooked to high temperatures to kill bacteria. In 2011, the CDC reported that fruits and nuts were linked to the most illnesses, followed by vegetables that grow on vines and stalks. People have died from things like infected bean sprouts, spinach, or cantaloupe.

The produce industry is responsible for one billion servings of fruits and vegetables every day in the United States. An extremely small portion of these are unsafe, but if you lost a loved one it doesn’t matter that the other millions of people are safe.

The big problem is attitude. The government inspects meat packing houses regularly. Fruit and vegetable packing houses are inspected only every 5 to 7 years. If they find a problem with sanitation, they do not re-inspect. The FDA has no authority to punish fruit and vegetable packing houses that do not follow the rules. Many of the FDA rules are only suggestions. Their only choice is to close the packing house down, and this usually happens only after someone gets sick or dies.

The problem also extends to stores that display some of their produce without refrigeration.
People think farmers’ markets are better because the products are fresher. This may be true, but they are also more likely to have product that is not refrigerated.

The problem also extends to the home. Many people think you don’t have to wash a banana or an orange because you won’t eat the peel. But when you peel the fruit, any bacteria that is on that peel will get on your hands. Lots of people us cloth bags instead of paper to save the trees but never think of washing them. If you set a piece of unwashed fruit in the refrigerator or on the counter, you could be infecting these surfaces.

One bacteria can multiply into one million in seven hours. This is why sanitation is so important. Write your congressman let him know that you want produce packing houses regularly inspected by the FDA and the FDA needs the power to punish those who don’t follow their rules.
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