I’m a food safety professional -there’s 3 supermarket foods I’d never touch…they could KILL
Buying pre-chopped fruit and vegetables at the supermarket could put you at risk of a potentially lethal infection, top food safety experts have warned.
Packets of diced mangoes, melon and pineapple are far more likely to be teeming with harmful bacteria like E.coli than whole fruits, according to US food chemist Dr Bryan Quoc.
This is because the protective skin has been cut, exposing the flesh, which is a hotbed for pathogens due to the moist, soft texture.
Meanwhile Professor Kali Kniel, a microbiologist at the University of Delaware, warned of the dangers of raw sprouts — tiny cress-like greens that are added to salads, soups and sandwiches.
Like pre-cut fresh fruit, these sprouts may harbour dangerous pathogens such as E. coli, listeria and salmonella.
Prof Kniel explained that the intricate growing process makes it difficult to ‘adequately disinfected to kill all the salmonella that could be there.’
That’s because the plant germinates in an environment that is ideal for bacteria to thrive.
‘Sprouts are basically grown in the warmest, most moist humid, wet environment that you can imagine, and guess what bacteria love it,’ explained one US food scientist in a video posted to her TikTok channel.
Dr Quoc also advised shoppers to steer clear of pre-cut fresh produce — especially those sliced in supermarkets — such as pre-cut melon over its vulnerability to bacteria
Unless you are blanching them or ‘cooking them into submission’ there is a food poisoning risk, she added.
One US study reported that the number of microorganisms on a sprouting seed can reach up to 1 billion within three days of the sprouting process.
Salmonella is a group of bacteria that infects the gut of farm animals.
Symptoms of infection include diarrhoea, stomach cramps and sometimes vomiting and fever.
But if you become seriously ill, you may need hospital care because the dehydration caused by the illness can be life-threatening.
E.coli, meanwhile, usually causes a fever, sickness and diarrhoea. In the majority of cases, symptoms fade naturally within days.
However, for vulnerable populations, the infection can get into the blood and travel to the organs, causing catastrophic damage.
A handful of Brits die from complications of an E.coli infection every year.
Dr Bryan Quoc, a US food chemist and industry consultant advised shoppers to consider how the food they pick affects their body, warning three were ‘not worth the risks’. First on his list was unpasteurised milk, also known as raw milk
Listeriosis is a serious infection usually caused by eating food contaminated with the bacterium listeria monocytogenes.
It poses a particular threat to the elderly, pregnant women and babies.
Dr Quoc also warned of the risks of drinking certain types of milk — specifically products that are unpasteurised, also known as raw milk.
The Washington state-based scientist told The Mirror: ‘There are a lot of people who tout milk as having all these health benefits.
‘But it’s just not worth the risk because there are a lot of pathogenic organisms that are still alive in that milk, especially if it’s coming straight from a processing facility.’
The majority of the milk we drink in the UK is pasteurised and heat-treated to kill off harmful bacteria.
Advocates claim raw milk, which is fresh from the cow and has not been pasteurised or heat treated, is high in important enzymes, vitamins and beneficial gut bacteria.
They even suggest it can reduce children’s risk of suffering allergy-related conditions such as eczema and hay fever.
Professor Kali Kniel, a microbiologist at the University of Delaware, also warned of the dangers of raw sprouts, such as radishes, alfalfa, and clover
But removing the heat treatment, which is designed to kill dangerous bugs such as E.coli, campylobacter and listeria, means the milk is inherently risky, according the Food Standards Agency (FSA).
In the UK, food that’s sold, sourced, distributed and stored must adhere to FSA regulations.
Under the government body’s guidelines, Brits can buy raw milk in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, but only directly from registered producers at the farm, farmers’ markets, online or through milk delivery rounds.
It’s illegal to sell raw milk anywhere else and is banned completely in Scotland.
In the US, around a dozen states including California and Texas allow the sale of raw milk in retail stores.
Food safety specialists have previously told MailOnline of tips to prevent bacterial infections when eating out.
According to Dr Darin Detwiler, a food safety expert at Northeastern University in Boston, diners should avoid buffet bars, oysters and fish on a Monday, when it’s least likely to be fresh.
