if youre in the US (especially the northeast + michigan) i would avoid bagged salads/greens and generally wash your produce very thoroughly unless you want the diarrhea parasite
Michigan is experiencing its largest outbreak of a parasitic infection that causes severe diarrhea. Nearly 1,000 people have been diagnosed
this is not life-threatening, but also who wants weeks of diarrhea and a fucking parasite in them lol. if you suspect you've already had this and it's passed, i would see a doctor. you might need an antiparasitic anyway. if you're actively sick, see a doctor and they might be able to prescribe medication to help you get over it faster.
try to avoid eating raw vegetables, scrub fruit with a produce brush and rinse thoroughly with water. again, don't bother with premade greens or bagged salads. if you buy lettuce, remove the outer 2-3 layers of leaves.
there are UNVERIFIED rumors that the greens have been linked to a company that sources to taco bell. some locations have been actively pulling fresh ingredients like lettuce, avocado, and pico de gallo to mitigate the threat, so i would avoid any products from them just in case. considering how vast supply chains are, i'd be wary of any fast food greens in general for now.
further tips from an immunocompromised person obsessed with food safety:
- wash and then cook your vegetables. air fry, bake, sautee, deep fry, whatever to 165F
- if you really want a salad, get locally farmed veg from the farmers market and wash VERY thoroughly. if the farm has info about their labor practices, even better. workers' safety keeps us safe too
- you can blanch some greens too but this isn't as safe as cooking thoughly
- wash your hands thoroughly before & after prepping raw vegetables
- avoid cross contamination in your kitchen from raw vegetables. act like it's raw chicken
