You’re more likely to get a nasty stomach bug from romaine lettuce than from any other salad produce or vegetable—and now researchers have figured out why.
The lettuce is often the cause of an E.coli outbreak, and it’s down to the way it is irrigated and transported, say researchers from Cornell University.
The lettuce is regularly watered with untreated surface water from overhead spray irrigation systems, and they aren’t being cleaned properly once they have been picked, the researchers found, and they aren’t in efficient cold storage units before they reach the stores. High temperatures while in storage produce the perfect storm for salad leaves that have already been contaminated.
The problem could be reduced by using better irrigation systems, where water doesn’t settle directly on the leaves, the researchers say.
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