Experts warn about dangerous mistake people make while washing fruit amidst deathly blueberry recall
Fresh blueberries have been urgently recalled this week by the FDA over fears they could be contaminated with listeria - a dangerous bacteria that poses a 'severe risk' to public health.
The FDA 's announcement comes after Alma Pak International LLC, based in Georgia, pulled its blueberries after routine testing detected traces of Listeria monocytogenes.
Four hundred boxes of blueberries – totaling 12,000 pounds – were shipped to a single customer in North Carolina, but it is unclear whether they were distributed elsewhere afterwards.
Listeria is particularly dangerous for pregnant women, newborns, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems.
It can cause fever, muscle aches, and even lead to miscarriage or life-threatening infections.
Amidst the shocking and dangerous recall, TV star and lifestyle guru Martha Stewart spoke to a slew of experts about washing berries the right way to ensure you're protecting yourself.
They claimed that rinsing the yummy fruit under just water isn't actually removing the harmful pesticides, bacteria, or mold that can stick to the skin.
Instead, food scientist Bryan Quoc Le, Ph.D., urged people to mix water with white vinegar or baking soda to clean the berries before consumption, per Martha's website.
Vinegar has a low pH which makes it effective at dissolving certain pesticide residue and stopping bacterial growth.
Baking soda neutralizes bacteria through its alkaline nature.
However, if not washed off thoroughly, it leaves behind a bitter-tasting residue, the scientist warned.
The cleaning solutions are easy to make at home.
The vinegar wash only needs three parts cold water to one part white vinegar, which you can combine in a large bowl.
Let the blueberries soak for five to 10 minutes in the mixture, moving them around once in a while, before rinsing with cold water.
For the baking soda bath, dissolve one teaspoon of baking soda into two cups of cold water.
Let the berries soak for five to 10 minutes before rinsing. They must be dried completely before being stored in the refrigerator.
However, heed warning: don't let the blueberries sit in the baking soda wash for more than 15 minutes.
'The skin can begin to degrade if soaked too long, causing flavors to be dissolved in the cleaning solution,' warned Le.
Now when should the berries be washed? Experts suggest washing right before eating and not when you first get them because any moisture left on the skin of the berries can cause them to spoil.
Once they are washed and dried, they can be eaten or stored in a breathable container lined with a paper towel.
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