How to prepare produce to prevent food poisoning

Abdominal cramps, diarrhea and vomiting can make food poisoning seemingly the worst 12 to 24 hours of your life. The symptoms can be so severe that young children, older people and those with lowered immunity may need prompt medical care. You can get food poisoning from eating foods that are contaminated with such viruses as Vibrio vulnificus or norovirus, or bacteria like salmonella and Staphylococcus aureus. Most of the time, food poisoning is perfectly avoidable if you practice safe food storage. Although meat is often seen as the most likely cause of this kind of poisoning, you should also pay very close attention to your produce. Here are some helpful tips on preventing food poisoning  with the produce in your home.

From baby spinach to melons and raspberries to onions, fresh fruits and vegetables are now the source of three times more food poisoning cases than beef and almost twice as many as poultry, reports the US Center for Science in the Public Interest. Despite TV and newspaper headlines about outbreaks, most produce is still safe, experts say. These strategies can keep it even safer.

• Buy fresh-cut produce like half a watermelon or bagged salad greens only if they're refrigerated or surrounded by ice.
• Store perishable produce (like strawberries, lettuce, herbs and mushrooms), pre-cut produce and peeled produce in the refrigerator.
• Wash fruits and vegetables under running water before eating, cutting or cooking, even if you're going to peel them. Use a clean vegetable brush on the rinds of melons and squash. Don't use dish detergent or hand soap — it can leave a residue that could make you feel sick. Dry with a clean paper towel when possible; there's evidence that this removes more germs. Experts say there's no proof that special produce cleaners remove any more germs than does washing with water and drying with a clean paper towel.
• Remove the outer leaves of head vegetables like cabbage and lettuce.
• Skip all raw sprouts, such as alfalfa, bean, broccoli and radish sprouts, even if you've grown them at home. Their warm, moist growing conditions encourage growth of dangerous bacteria.
• Choose pasteurized juice and cider instead of unpasteurized types (or boil unpasteurized cider for five minutes before drinking).

Should you rewash triple-washed salad greens? Some experts say yes.

• While studies show that triple-washed greens sold in sealed bags are safe, some food safety experts say washing them again can't hurt.
• Food-borne illnesses traced to salad greens have risen 39 percent in the past decade.
• The truth is, you can't always remove all germs from leafy greens; researchers say they're sometimes inside the leaves or cling tightly to them. But washing helps.

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