| By Brandy Brabham, WVU Extension Agent
Are flooded vegetables safe to eat? According to an excerpt from Safe Handling of Fruits and Vegetables, a fact sheet from Ohio State University, probably not! If flood waters have covered a garden, most produce will be unsafe to eat. The safety of un-harvested fruits and vegetables will depend on:
⢠Kind of produce
⢠Maturity of produce at the time of flooding
⢠Time of year flooding occurred
⢠Severity of flooding (depth of water and silt)
⢠Duration of flooding
⢠Bacterial content of floodwater
⢠Likelihood of contamination from sewage or other bacterial contaminants
In general, fruits and vegetables that were immature at the time of flooding should be safe to eat by the time they are ready to harvest. For additional safety, wash thoroughly and cook it before eating.
Unless flooding was light and there is no danger of bacterial contamination from floodwater, do not use fruits and vegetables that were ready for harvest at the time of flooding. Some fruits and vegetables are more susceptible than others to bacterial contamination.
Leafy vegetables (such as lettuce, cabbage, mustard, kale, collards, spinach, Swiss chard, and celery), fleshy vegetables (such as tomatoes, summer squash, and peppers), and berry fruits (such as strawberries) are highly susceptible to bacterial contamination. Silt and other contaminants may be imbedded in the leaves, petioles, stems, or other natural openings of fleshy structures and can be difficult to remove. Do not use if mature when flooded.
Root, bulb, and tuber crops such as beets, carrots, radishes, turnips, onions, and potatoes are less susceptible to bacterial contamination. Disinfect these vegetables (see below for proper way to disinfect), and peel and cook them thoroughly before eating.
Produce with a protected fruit or impervious outer skin such as peas, melons, eggplant, sweet corn, or winter squash should be washed and disinfected before the outer shell skin or husk is removed. Then shell, peel, or husk the produce and cook before eating.
Thoroughly wash and disinfect produce before eating. Wash in clean, potable water with a scrub brush. Remove all silt. Immerse produce for 15 to 20 minutes in a weak chlorine solution. Household bleaches contain from 2 to 6 percent chlorine. The amount of bleach to add to water depends on the percentage of chlorine it contains:
* 2 percent chlorine: use 3/4 tablespoon per quart
* 4 percent chlorine: use 1 teaspoon per quart
* 6 percent chlorine: use 1/2 teaspoon per quart
Rinse thoroughly with safe drinking water. Peel if possible and cook thoroughly before eating. Refer any specific questions to health department authorities or your local WVU Extension Office.
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