Squeaky Clean

Have you ever walked into a store and spied the shoe box size, metal contraption near the exit or entrance, or back in the pet department? Perhaps you have seen old fashioned traps, "secretly" located under the shelves or in between them?

Maybe these critters trample across the produce or run across the tops of cans, springing from one isle to the next. Or maybe they used the bathroom and neglected to wash their hands?
I am here to remind you, of not only the squeaky things that lurk in the grocery stores, but also of the smaller rodents (roaches) and larger varmints (humans) that touch our foods.

How many of you have seen the produce guy wipe his nose on the back of his sleeve? Or sneeze on the produce? Maybe after a smoke break they don't see the need to wash their hands before returning to work? Or worse, maybe your husband or son seen him in the men's restroom, fully decked out in his apron (or meat dept smock!) and they leave without washing their hands!?
Ewwwwww!

As you bring your groceries in your home, I'm sure you don't think twice about the hands that touched them, the lil' rodents that may have trampled across them and left urine to dry on the can or even the manure water that was sprayed on the veggies before they traveled.

It's time we start thinking beyond the shelf! I encourage you to wash off any can lid with a soapy rag. Wash your fruits n veggies BEFORE you place them in your fridge. Germs can be spread to us by way of the produce, by placing them in your fridge, you are incubating the germ.

Imagine if you were to have cantaloupe for dessert. You get your cutting board, knife, fruit and start cutting. If the cantaloupe has e-coli or some other germ, by you cutting thru the fruit, you have now contaminated the inside of the cantaloupe, the knife, your hands, the cutting board and where ever the juice flows and you touch. Take a moment of your day to ensure the health of your family by washing all fruits n veggies!

To clean your produce use a clean wet cloth to make sure pathogens are not sticking to the sticky wax, water is enough to do the trick. You might want to rinse off your bananas before consuming them as well. Just imagine how many hands that have touched the fruit before it gets to your mouth. Your hands might pick up the bacteria on the unwashed peel. Pretty gross huh?

My family has witnessed butchers, sporting their bloody aprons, out front of the grocery store, smoking. No sooner do we get in the store, they follow. They remind me of Pig-Pen on Charlie Brown. This large dirty smoke ball just aromafying their path. As we make our rounds to the meat department, who should we see back behind the glass, talking (no masks) and handling the meat (NO GLOVES!) with their bare hands? I am sicked out at the memory! This was at Farm Fresh in Smithfield, Va. Oct 2008. We need to not only be aware of whats in the food, but how it is handled and take appropriate actions to make it safe for our family.

Wash your cans and produce and don't buy meat from any source that is dirty.

I should put a disclaimer in ;) I do not have OCD! I just try to be on the safe side. Many have told me," God made dirt and dirt don't hurt." I agree, God did make dirt, but He didn't say to consume it!! :)