Not only are kids and adults eating a greater amount of produce for health reasons, but consumption is also up because leafy greens and berries are sustainable to grow and therefore better for the planet. We’d like to think that the Field Trip Factory nutrition-based field trips have a little something to do with bringing more awareness to sustainability and eating right.
Our partners have been teaching kids that healthy eating includes a variety of foods that come in a rainbow of colors – and that means fruits and vegetables. How do you make sure they are safe to eat? Here are 7 tips for ensuring your produce nourishes your body and doesn’t make you sick.
- Keep fruits and vegetables away from uncooked meat in the shopping cart and in your shopping bags to take home.
- Skip the bruised fruits and vegetables and, of course, don’t eat anything that looks rotten.
- Be mindful of the temperature. If produce is on ice or refrigerated at the store, it should be taken straight home, or kept in coolers until you get home, and then placed in your refrigerator. Even if produce is not kept cool at the store or market, don’t leave fruits and vegetables in a hot car during warm weather.
- Use water to wash all fruits and vegetables before you cut, cook, or eat them – even if you plan to peel the produce and discard the rinds and outer skin. Be sure to dry the produce with a clean towel.
- If packaged produce indicates that is has been pre-washed or triple-washed and is ready-to-eat, you shouldn’t have to wash it again.
- Scrub melons, cucumbers, and other hard produce with a produce brush before cutting and eating.
- Keep a cutting board for fruits and vegetables separate from a cutting board for meats and poultry.