September 11, 2006
Don't lettuce poison you
Gulp! As if the world weren't dangerous enough, the latest news from California is particularly disturbing. Seems that lettuce and spinach from the Salinas Valley might be contaminated with the dreaded E. coli O157:H7 bacteria.
Picking lettuce south of Monterey. Los Angeles Times photo
The last time we saw this, it was undercooked Jack-Inda-Box burgers and improperly pasteurized Odwalla juice. This time the excuse is convoluted: infected cow manure gets into streams that overflow into nearby feedlots and pastures; birds drink the water and drop polluted poop as they fly over the lettuce fields. One blighted head of lettuce, the processors argue, could taint the whole operation. Might. Ya can't prove nothin'.
Only solution, short of steaming or sautéing your salad: buy from local farmers, wash the leaves.