Very appetizing, but dangerous: which healthy supermarket snack to avoid and why

E. coli or salmonellosis can cause relatively mild symptoms (weakness, nausea, disturbed bowel movements) or can be seriously detrimental to health. And often, the victims sincerely do not understand where they “caught” the infection.

Of course, prepared food is always a risk factor – although in the living conditions of a big city, few people have the opportunity to completely refuse it. But there are products, the use of which becomes Russian roulette due to the specifics of their preparation for sale.

We are talking about fruit salads and sliced ​​fruit and squash. If, for example, a ready-to-eat green salad in vacuum packaging passes control in the company itself, the fruit salad and cuts are prepared directly at the supermarket. And no particular sanitary conditions are guaranteed. In this case, the consumer is protected only by the brand of the chain store – well, and the hope that everything will be fine. Because it is practically impossible to know under what conditions and by which employee a delicious snack was prepared.

And the most insidious products that are worth leaving on the shelf are melons – chopped watermelons and melons.

Why them exactly? Squashes are most susceptible to infection for a variety of reasons: they grow on the ground and can therefore absorb and trap infected water during the harvesting process. On the ground, they can also come into contact with bacteria from the feces of animals that share space with them.

Finally, their skin also serves as a breeding ground for bacteria, since pathogens can easily stick to it and possibly even penetrate the flesh. As a result, even if E. coli or Salmonella were on an insufficiently washed piece of skin, when cut in a supermarket, they will end up on a large number of slices.

In a word, it is better to enjoy watermelons and melons at home – having washed them properly and eating them immediately after slicing them.