This will make you shudder: Studies conducted at Tennessee State
University found that the vegetable bin is the dirtiest part of
the refrigerator. And no wonder: Fresh from the grocery store, a
standard head of romaine lettuce can have as many as 2 million
bacteria per gram, plus yeast, mold, and assorted germ carriers.
Swearing off fresh produce is clearly not the answer. What is?
Washing it with plain, room-temperature tap water. In some
cases, doing so cuts bacteria by as much as 98 percent. So stow
the fancy veggie washes and sprays, and after your next trip to
the store or farmers' market, ask yourself these four questions,
then follow our advice. Does it have edible skin? Think: apples,
peaches, tomatoes, zucchini, peppers Scrub under running water
for 30 to 60 seconds. "Running water helps remove most
bacteria," explains Brendan Niemira, Ph.D., lead scientist with
the USDA Agricultural Research Service. Scrubbing with a
vegetable brush or your fingers (to avoid bruising softer fruit
like peaches) will