Making sure food from your garden is safe to eat (2024)
Gardening delivers produce that is tastier, cheaper and safer than store-bought, right? Well, not necessarily safer.
"There's always the potential from contamination, whether you grow your own food or buy it at the market," said Marisa Bunning, an extension food safety specialist at Colorado State University.
"You know more about (food safety) and have more control over it with a home garden, but animals have more access to your yard than with specialty crops grown on farms," she said. "Not only wildlife, but pets."
Most food-borne illnesses are infections caused by bacteria, viruses and parasites, according to the Minnesota Department of Health. There's also a danger from toxins or chemical contaminants. "Many food-borne pathogens also can be acquired through recreational or drinking water, through contact with animals or their environment, or through person-to-person spread," the agency says.
E. coli and salmonella are the most frequently reported food-borne illnesses. Symptoms include diarrhea and vomiting, abdominal cramps, fever and joint pain. Severity depends upon an individual's health, but children and the elderly comprise the highest risk groups, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Food safety specialists recommend guarding against contamination from field to fork. That means minimizing hazards in the garden and being careful when handling food in the kitchen.
— Choose the right garden location, especially in cities, Bunning said. "Avoid areas near septic tanks or runoff and aerosols from contaminated irrigation systems," she said. "Septic tanks or reservoirs could be leaking."
— Use only potable water for your produce. Groundwater from wells (the deeper the better) is generally safer than water from streams or ponds. Drip systems are better than sprinklers for avoiding direct water contact with edibles like leafy greens growing above the soil.
— Manage manure and compost properly. Age it from 2 to 4 months so beneficial bacteria can kill out the harmful types. Mix compost frequently, and ensure that it reaches temperatures of 140 degrees or more for prolonged periods to reduce or eliminate E. coli contamination.
"Food safety isn't on the radar screen in many cases for home gardeners," said Kurt Nolte, an agriculture agent with the School of Plant Sciences at the University of Arizona. "Many gardeners, including myself, just don't have (compost) temperature probes that go that high."
— Clean tools and yourself after gardening. "Keep pets out of the garden, use a high-quality water source, ensure that people in the garden are not sick, and that there's no human waste on your hands or person," Nolte said.
— Wash all fruits and vegetables before eating them, especially if serving them raw. Washing removes dirt and bacteria as well as residual pesticides. Cooking kills many pathogens, and promptly refrigerating leftovers will slow the growth of harmful bacteria.
Rinse fresh fruits and vegetables under cool, running, clean water even if you do not plan to eat the skin or rind. Never use soap, detergent, or bleach solution to wash fresh fruits or vegetables. These solutions can affect flavor and may not be safe to ingest.
— Wash all fruits and vegetables before eating them, especially if serving them raw. Washing removes dirt and bacteria as well as residual pesticides. Cooking kills many pathogens, and promptly refrigerating leftovers will slow the growth of harmful bacteria.
Preventing contamination is the key to food safety. The three main ways garden vegetables can be contaminated are animals, animal manure and people. Although infected people can spread disease-causing organisms to garden vegetables, chances of this happening in the home garden are quite low.
Food safety often is cited as the primary reason why people grow their own edibles, but that's frequently an illusion. Food-borne illnesses are almost as likely to be caused by homegrown produce as by fresh foods acquired elsewhere.
Discourage wildlife from entering gardens. They eat large amounts of produce and their feces harbor pathogens. Although some bird species consume insect pests, the CDC lists wild birds as known carriers of Salmonella, Listeria, and E.
Most edible plants absorb some small amounts of arsenic, but usually do not contain enough arsenic to be of health concern. The amount of arsenic absorbed by plants can depend on many factors. Some of the most important factors are soil acidity, nutrient content, iron, organic matter, and plant type.
When to Toss Your Produce. Fully rotten produce will be slimy to the touch, heavily wrinkled, paler than its ripe color (yellow if previously green), sometimes moldy, and often accompanied by a foul smell, says Ahern. If you spot any of these common signs, your food is no longer safe (or tasty) to eat.
While fresh field tomatoes do not naturally contain bacteria that can make you sick, they can become contaminated because they are grown close to the ground. Eating tomatoes that have been contaminated with harmful bacteria can make you sick.
Be careful with any produce that has visible signs of animal damage, as where there is chewing, there is potential fecal contamination that can cause illness. Pathogenic bacteria, viruses and parasites such as toxigenic E.
However, research shows that there is minimal risk of exposure from eating plants grown in contaminated soils. To reduce concerns of exposure from eating plants, wash produce thoroughly before eating to remove potential soil contamination. Root vegetables have a higher potential for accumulating contaminants.
Growing your own food is a healthy way to save money and enjoy fresh produce at home. When done correctly, even the smallest backyard plot can produce copious amounts of fruits and vegetables and possibly even a significant saving to the grocery budget.
Homegrown organic crops contain a significantly higher amount of phytonutrients compared to conventionally grown foods. Organic produce offers more antioxidants (vitamin C, polyphenols and flavonoids), micronutrients and minerals.
It takes a lot of time and energy, you can easily fail if you don't know what you're doing, wasting time and money, and most of all you may just find that gardening becomes another chore to add to your to-do list.
Gardening gives you a lot of direct contact with allergens. You're digging in the dirt, pulling weeds, sitting in the grass, touching plants, and it can all cause symptoms like cough, itching, stuffy nose, congestion, and more. The allergens that cause the most issues when gardening are: Weeds.
Two other household products that can be effective against Listeria on food contact surfaces are hydrogen peroxide (available in 3% concentration) and distilled white vinegar (available in 5% concentration). Cooking foods thoroughly will destroy any Listeria that may be present on the food.
If a facility has Listeria germs, the germs can spread to food that touches contaminated equipment or surfaces. Listeria can also spread from contaminated food to surfaces. It can even grow on foods kept in the refrigerator. The good news is that Listeria is easily killed by heating food to a high enough temperature.
Washing fruits and vegetables not only helps remove dirt, bacteria, and stubborn garden pests, but it also helps remove residual pesticides. Under running water, rub fruits and vegetables briskly with your hands to remove dirt and surface microorganisms.
Always wash all fruits and vegetables before eating or cooking them and if you can, scrub them with a brush to help you get rid of any soil with arsenic in it.
Signs of healthy soil include plenty of underground animal and plant activity, such as earthworms and fungi. Soil that is rich in organic matter tends to be darker and crumbles off of the roots of plants you pull up. A healthy, spread-out root system is also a sign of good soil.
You can take your food scraps and put them to use in your garden without composting. That's right – you can take the cuttings, peels and roots left behind on your cutting board and deposit them directly into the soil of your garden.
Introduction: My name is Duane Harber, I am a modern, clever, handsome, fair, agreeable, inexpensive, beautiful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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