Supermarket greens packed with bacteria Here's some news that could even make a die-hard vegan swear off salad: Pre-washed packaged greens sold in supermarkets are crawling with fecal filth. Consumer Reports tested 208 bags of allegedly pre-washed salad blends -- the kind you'll find in supermarkets everywhere -- and found shockingly high levels of the bacteria that indicate fecal contamination and poor sanitation. Tests revealed unacceptably high levels of total coliforms in 39 percent of the salads, and 23 percent had high levels of the bacteria enterococcus. What's more, they found this filth in organic and inorganic blends alike... and it didn't matter if the label said "washed," "pre-washed," or -- my favorite -- "triple washed," because clearly whoever was doing the washing was asleep at the hose. Some of these salads had 100 times what experts considered acceptable levels for these bacteria. But really, what's an "acceptable" level of poo in your food? Don't know about you, but for me that number is ZERO. That's why I don't eat any prepared foods, and I include pre-bagged supermarket bunny chow in that category. It's not just the salad. Much of the mass-produced packaged foods and meats available in supermarkets are crawling with filth. And the junk they peddle in fast food joints is even worse (not to mention the risk of boogers, spittle and anything else the teenage chefs feel like "adding" to your meal). The lesson here, if it's not clear already, is to be extra choosy about your food. Buy meats from a good butcher who sells grass-fed organic cuts. And treat pre-bagged veggies like any other packaged food: avoid them. If you hate preparing lettuce and spinach so much that you're buying these feces-filled feedbags, then just skip them altogether. Seeing red over greens, William Campbell Douglass II, M.D.
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