Why you need to wash avocados, even if you do not eat the peel
'25.12.2018'
Source: USA Today
If you don’t wash your avocado before you cut it, you risk becoming infected with a dangerous bacterial infection. Food and Drug Administration United States.
The FDA shocked guacamole lovers, recommending that they always wash the avocado peels thoroughly, even if you’re just going to cut them off and throw them away, writes USA Today.
Washing is an important way to prevent bacteria and dirt from getting on the knife, as well as to avoid transferring infection from the dark green avocado skin to the light green flesh you eat. To further reduce the risk, wash the peel with a food brush and pat dry with a clean or paper towel.
This month, the FDA announced that a sample of federal investigators had detected Listeria (Listeria monocytogenes) on the skin of roughly 1 from 5 avocados.
The new data is part of a 2014–2016 study in which experts tested 361 samples of American and imported avocados. 64 copies, or 17,73%, tested positive - the fruits were contaminated with bacteria.
According to the FDA, to reduce the risk of infection in food, it is correct to eat an avocado like this: use a spoon to “scoop out” the pulp from the rind, which must be thrown away immediately afterwards; consume the avocado as soon as possible after cutting the skin. Important! Before you eat your favorite product in a way convenient for you, do not forget - it needs to be washed.
Symptoms of listeriosis include high fever, severe headache, muscle stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, and in pregnant women, the infection can cause miscarriage or stillbirth, reports FDA.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 1600 people suffer from listeriosis every year. 260 of them is dying.
At high risk are pregnant women, newborns, adults aged 65 and over, and people with weak immune systems.
William Hallman, a professor of human ecology at Rutgers University, noted that only individual bacteria are likely to get from the avocado peel to his flesh. However, the expert called the FDA proposal "good advice."
“Even though the risk is relatively small, you can practically negate it,” he said.
