Sandwiches First

Stay Away From Salad in a Bag

It's not like it tastes good.
It’s not like it tastes good. Photo: Steven Mark Needham/Corbis

What could be more depressing than getting sick from bagged salad, of all things? It’s safer (and cheaper) to suck it up and trim and wash your own lettuce leaves: Experts at the Center for Science in the Public Interest say the risk of cross-contamination is high in packaged salad mixes — if pathogens are introduced or someone’s used contaminated water. This news comes after 397 people across sixteen states became ill after eating lettuce infected with the cyclospora parasite. Last year alone the FDA issued more than twenty recalls for packaged salads, and lettuce and leafy vegetables are two of the biggest sources of food-borne illnesses in the country. [Earlier, AP]

Stay Away From Salad in a Bag