this post was submitted on 16 Jan 2026
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[–] Smoogs@lemmy.world 46 points 3 days ago (3 children)

for the record this has happened to people as well as severe illness from eating un washed vegetables.. Perhaps the artist just hasnt been paying enough attention to the liability warning on washing stuff particularly romaine lettuce has been recalled numerous times over the years as infections have lead to death, illness and why these warnings exist.

There’s been listeria outbreaks on waffles the past two years.

Food warnings Just in the past few months:

January 15, 2026
[Outbreak of Salmonella infections linked to various brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products] December 24, 2025
[Outbreak of E. coli infections linked to Pillsbury brand Pizza Pops] November 5, 2025
[Outbreak of Salmonella infections linked to dog food and treats]

These are packed products. So I wouldn’t trust an exposed, unwashed grown product. Common sense.

[–] egrets@lemmy.world 20 points 2 days ago (1 children)

There’s been listeria outbreaks on waffles the past two years.

NO ONE TOLD ME I HAD TO WASH WAFFLES

[–] Trainguyrom@reddthat.com 4 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (2 children)

Listeria can't survive cooking so just fully cook any food you get that's RTE (Ready To Eat). Examples of high risk food included frozen pizza and corn dogs since there's both meat and bread coming together, each having its own food bourne illness risks. So yeah, fully cook your food.

The good news however is that the FDA takes Listeria very seriously and will stop production at a plant until a battery of thousands of swabs all come back negative. Plants don't want to be shut down by the FDA so they do their own swabbing very frequently and often have private contractors who also swab very frequently so that they can identify contaminations before they get to the FDA

More good news is Listeria really struggles to compete with other food bourne illnesses, so in a facility that's really poorly cleaned and maintained, it'll most likely be a far less deadly pathogen because they beat out Listeria in the competition for resources to grow and spread

[–] Krauerking@lemy.lol 4 points 2 days ago (1 children)

But doctor, I got listeria from ice cream.

How am I supposed to cook that?!

[–] bitcrafter@programming.dev 2 points 2 days ago

The good news however is that the FDA takes Listeriavery [sic] seriously [...]

...so far.

[–] CallMeAnAI@lemmy.world 18 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (2 children)

 Yeah I'm sure the 5 second rinse that everyone does really kills that bacteria. Individually soaping each leaf, massaging the crevasses 🤣

The rinse is for getting rid of rocks and dirt. The rest is theater.

[–] egrets@lemmy.world 15 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Small amounts of dirt are going to harbor bacteria, and a soak and rinse (and a light scrub, if it's produce that can be scrubbed) will actually make a notable difference to the pathogen count. It's not magic, but it's good practice.

[–] CallMeAnAI@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago (2 children)

I get it, and I wash my shit if only because of literal shit. But odds are if there is an outbreak, you're getting sick. This is nitpicky as fuck.

[–] Smoogs@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

Wow speaking of nitpicky there is no middle ground with you.

Ah sorry, reread the username. Call you anal. Got it. Fits.

[–] CallMeAnAI@lemmy.world 0 points 2 days ago

Clever, huh 🤣

[–] village604@adultswim.fan -1 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

All of this is ignoring the fact that plants can absorb the harmful bacteria so washing, even with specific produce washing solution, isn't foolproof.

Of course, that vector is definitely more uncommon than shit particles on the food.

[–] Trainguyrom@reddthat.com 5 points 2 days ago (1 children)

The rinse also gets rid of any bugs that might have hitched a ride. There's some nasty parasites you can completely avoid just by rinsing your produce

[–] CallMeAnAI@lemmy.world -2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I know, everyone is getting sick all the time, from the occasional unwashed fruit.

[–] Kolanaki@pawb.social 2 points 2 days ago

How is dirt or bugs gonna make me sick if I already eat dirt and bugs for fun? 🤷‍♂️

[–] village604@adultswim.fan 1 points 2 days ago

The thing to always consider is the probability of the risk.

You're technically not supposed to reheat rice because the toxins produced by bacteria that feed on rice aren't destroyed by the temperatures you achieve though reheating.

But the risk is really quite low, to the extent that someone could reheat rice frequently throughout their life and never get sick.

This is true for a lot of food safety issues. Or really safety issues in general. For an individual the risk is pretty low, but for a place like a restaurant it's much higher due to volume.

I also have doubts that simply rinsing produce with water is a truly effective method of removing bacteria. If you think about it, would you consider only rinsing off your hands with water after taking a shit be sufficient?

In all of the restaurants I've worked in we had to use a specific washing solution for cleaning produce.

[–] whaleross@lemmy.world 21 points 2 days ago (1 children)

What is this? The new anti vax movement?

You mean the anti-rabies-serum-shot movement?

(TW: Scene from Zootopia)

[–] sik0fewl@piefed.ca 11 points 2 days ago (1 children)

So they died from E. coli? Sounds rough.

Yeah my thoughts exactly. There is a good reason for washing your produce unless you're sure the farmers have good control over their water.

[–] Smoogs@lemmy.world 5 points 2 days ago (1 children)
[–] christian@lemmy.ml 1 points 2 days ago

Never wash produce with detergent or bleach

Why did no one tell me this earlier?

[–] samus12345@sh.itjust.works 4 points 2 days ago

He's white as a sheet. He ded.

[–] CluckN@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Why did he strip him naked?

[–] Kolanaki@pawb.social 2 points 2 days ago

He never had clothes to begin with.

[–] Brewchin@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Blueberries? Is this another of those things that I'm not American enough to understand?

[–] Smoogs@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago

Na it’s not you. artist is just too stupid to understand ecoli

[–] badcommandorfilename@lemmy.world 2 points 3 days ago (2 children)

We're supposed to do what now?

[–] trxxruraxvr@lemmy.world 39 points 3 days ago (3 children)

Seriously, you need to wash any fruit or vegetable that you don't peel first or you'll be eating pesticides

[–] ladicius@lemmy.world 14 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

Carrots often are covered in feces (manure) and the very ugly bacteria that comes with that. No joke.

[–] psx_crab@lemmy.zip 8 points 3 days ago (2 children)

Or dirt and dust, or animal sneeze, or bird poop.

[–] Smoogs@lemmy.world 12 points 3 days ago

And if it’s exposed in a bin in a grocery store it’s been handled by some dude who took a shit and didnt wash his hands almost definitely.

[–] Rothe@piefed.social 10 points 3 days ago

Or feces from the hands of the underpaid workers with no access to toilet facilities, who picked the produce.

[–] hungryphrog@lemmy.blahaj.zone -3 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Assuming that said berry, fruit, or vegetable has been poisoned, which is not always the case...

[–] trxxruraxvr@lemmy.world 1 points 2 days ago

It will be for pretty much every produce you can buy in supermarkets though.

[–] hitmyspot@aussie.zone 7 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I'd recommend washing berries with a mix of water and vinegar. They last much longer. Often the punnets have air holes or rinshign holes already so you can just submerge the fruit without unpacking and let it air dry after removal.

[–] kaulquappus@feddit.org 3 points 2 days ago

Did that with my blueberries last night B)

Won't see me on no hospital floor.

[–] Grass@sh.itjust.works 0 points 2 days ago (3 children)

I rinse everything then let it float in diluted vinegar for a bit then dry it in the salad spinner before putting it in fridge or other storage depending on what it is. If I'm out of vinegar I'll use the peracetic acid I have for sanitizing my kegs.

[–] gmtom@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago

That sounds like too much

[–] LadyButterfly@piefed.blahaj.zone 4 points 2 days ago (2 children)

I use vinegar for cleaning it's cheap and cheerful

[–] Smoogs@lemmy.world 1 points 2 days ago

For the time being. Peroxide also used to be cheap.

Used to be.

[–] Grass@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 days ago

I mostly use vinegar for that reason. I had a 20 gal of 70% ish vinegar that I was diluting for a long time but I can't seem to source that any more so I have to get the standard jugs and just use the diluted paa when I run out and don't feel like going to the store.

[–] surewhynotlem@lemmy.world 1 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I have kitchen towels for drying, but it's a pain for large volumes. Does the spinner do a good job?

[–] Grass@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

yeah its pretty great. things that don't get damaged I'll also spin them in it while full of vinegar water or the sanitizer and I dont have to keep buying paper towel or laundering towels. works obviously for salad but anything that fits will get mostly dried even if it has lots of bumps and crevices. I've done everything from leaves to fruits to potatoes and ginger. its basically that theme park ride that spins and you get stuck to the wall but its a grate so liquid goes through and pools under the basket.