Five Really Good Reasons to Wash it Off Before You Eat It!

"God made dirt, so dirt don't hurt". That's what we used to say as kids when we dropped a prized piece of candy or food on the ground by mistake to justify still eating it. I know I did it! We all did! We would "kiss it up to God", blow it off, and say that little phrase. It's a wonder we survived! ;)

As clean as we think we are, there are moments where one can forget to be as conscientious about cleanliness as one should. One of those times is when we're hungry. How many times have you just popped a grape or a piece of veggie into your mouth without cleaning it off first? Well, even though you did survive, you probably ingested some nasty little business along with that tasty morsel.



Whenever I bring home fruits, veggies, meats and anything that I know has been touched by human hands, I make sure to thoroughly wash it off first. You have to remember that you don't really know where this food came from, who's handled it, and how clean or not so clean they were. Some foods go through a long line of people, places and things before they end up on your table, picking up all manner of bacteria, germs and parasites along the way, and you really just can't trust that everywhere along the line the correct measures have been taken to insure that your food is clean.
Pesticides, salmonella, e coli, and human waste are but a few of the things that are picked up by many foodstuffs, from the farm, to the packaging plant, to the supermarket and then to you. Err on the side of caution and be sure to wash it off yourself.

I was reminded of this just this past weekend. While in the fruit department getting apples, I noticed a woman picking through a bag of cherries and eating them. She'd fish through the bag, grab a couple, stick them in her mouth and suck off the fruit, and then spit the pits into her other hand (the one that was holding the bag). Then she'd repeat the process, once again sticking the fingers that had just been in her mouth back in the bag for more cherries. After a few rounds of this, she then rezipped the bag up, and tossed it back into the pile of bagged cherries that she got it from. I thought I was gonna retch! Yuck!!
The person that does end up with the bag of cherries this woman just spread all her germs through will have no idea of what transpired with those cherries prior to purchase. Hopefully they will be smart and careful and wash them off first!
And you wonder why some get sick with flu and colds so easily. It's by other unsanitary people that you pick up these germs!

It just pointed out to me that you really don't know what food goes through before you get it, so you need to remember that and clean your foodstuffs off well.
Besides the nastiness that food can pick up from the farm and manufacturing plants, the people that touch and process your food might not pay the type of attention to good hygiene that they should.
Don't even get me started about what can go on in the kitchens of restaurants. That will become a whole other post!

Food handlers and eaters! These are some rules you should work and live by:

• Wash your hands with soap and clean water before preparing or eating food.

• Avoid coughing or sneezing near food, or touching your nose, mouth, hair, body cavities and personal areas while preparing food.

• Avoid preparing food if you are sick or if you have wounds or sores on your hands.

• If you have to blow your nose, clean your ears or eyes, or in any other way attend to your body, excuse yourself to a washroom and do it there, remembering to wash your hands before returning to food preparation and handling.

If everybody did that, I'd sleep (and eat) a lot easier! Seriously! :) Let's all do what we can to keep it clean, folks! :)

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