Tips for Fruits and Vegetables
- Wash hands with warm water and soap for at least 20 seconds before and after handling food, especially fresh whole fruits and vegetables and raw meat, poultry and fish. Clean under fingernails, too.
- Rinse raw produce in warm water. Don't use soap or other detergents. If necessary--and appropriate--use a small scrub brush to remove surface dirt.
- Use smooth, durable and nonabsorbent cutting boards that can be cleaned and sanitized easily.
- Wash cutting boards with hot water, soap and a scrub brush to remove food particles. Then sanitize the boards by putting them through the automatic dishwasher or rinsing them in a solution of 1 teaspoon (5 milliliters) of chlorine bleach to 1 quart (about 1 liter) of water. Always wash boards and knives after cutting raw meat, poultry or seafood and before cutting another food to prevent cross-contamination.
- Store cut, peeled and broken-apart fruits and vegetables (such as melon balls) at or below 41 degrees Fahrenheit (5 degrees Celsius)--that is, in the refrigerator.
- People whose immune systems may be compromised (for example, people who are very young or very old, have a chronic disease, or take certain medicines) should stick with pasteurized juices and cider. Pasteurization kills harmful levels of bacteria commonly found in food.
- When buying from a salad bar, avoid fruits and vegetables that look brownish, slimy or dried out. These are signs that the product has been held at an improper temperature.
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