Trash the salad?

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YT2095

Executive Chef
Joined
Aug 26, 2006
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Location
Central UK.
I`v just done something uncommonly Stupid!

I mixed the raw chicken in with the fresh chopped garlic and lemon and lime juice to marinade for a bit, I left the spatula on the side as the lid needed to be entirely closed.

I got distracted (that happens here a Lot!)

I then made up the salad with the dressing etc,,,
and realised I`de used the same spatula I`de used for the chicken :(

since both are Acidic, is it a Danger?

my head says it`ll be ok anyway, my Gut feeling says throw it away.

(we have no more salad in the house and all the shops are shut.)
 
Considering where the suspect food would be headed first... I'd probably trust the gut over the head if I were you in that situation.

It's a waste, but sometimes you just can't help it.
 
I think I`m in agreement with ya, I`m just so Pi**ed off about :(

1) it`s a waste of good fresh food
2) I really was looking forwards to my salad.

I cannot think of Anyway (beyond Cobalt 60 irradiation) that would leave it safe and still edible :(

have ya Tried Boiled Salad before? YUCK!
 
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Since you have a young child it's better not to take the risk..otherwise I'd have been tempted!!
 
After what my husband has been through with Campylobactor I just wouldn't chance anything, especially raw poultry!

Good choice YT...you can get more salad tomorrow and make up for it! :)
 
csalt, yeah, another good reason, although she`s fast asleep and won`t be eating any of it (if we chose to eat it) we`re not going to be much use to her if we`re both ill.

RK, I thought about yer Hubby when I realised the mistake I made, I just wasn`t sure what caused his prob.

and yes, a DOUBLE Helping of salad for me 2moro, I do like my Salads! :)
 
Can't you rinse the salad off and start again? That's what I would do. The amount of possible cross contamination is so small washing the salad should take care of anything that might possibly maybe possibly be in the salad.
 
If the salad is contaminated then washing will not do anything other than spread the contamination unless you use soap. Somehow soapy salad just does not sounds tasty :LOL:
 
If the salad is contaminated then washing will not do anything other than spread the contamination unless you use soap. Somehow soapy salad just does not sounds tasty :LOL:

What about lemon or orange flavored dish soap?:-p
The grease cutters might even clean out the system! :LOL:

But seriously, yea throw it away. I hate it when this happens, done it many times myself and the one time I 'risked it' I spent several days sick in bed!
Yick!
 
If the salad is contaminated then washing will not do anything other than spread the contamination unless you use soap. Somehow soapy salad just does not sounds tasty :LOL:

Devil's advocate question:
How do we know that of any produce we buy? Has it been contaminated or not before we use it for the first time? I just had tomatoes tonight on my tacos, so they were eaten uncooked. I did not use soap to wash them off, a quick rinse under cold water was all they received.
So, would I have been better off not rinsing them at all, just in case?
At least in YT's case it was "fresh" uncooked chicken as the possible contaminant. Which is probably why he asked in the first place...

Enquiring minds want to know :wacko:
 
Rinsing food under water does nothing more then get rid of dust and other solids that may be on the food. It does absolutely nothing for getting rid of germs or other nasties like that.

There have been many cases of produce that was mishandled and then packaged and people got sick from it. The people that got sick very possibly washed it first. That did nothing to keep them from getting sick.

Chicken can carry salmonella. If that comes in contact with something that goes into your mouth then you can get very sick.
 
YT, if you eat it, let us know of the science projects you do after, you are a very verbal guinea pig.

i doubt you want to be your own test subject on this one.
 
Thanks, GB. That was exactly my point.

Improperly "washing" does nothing at all, except for maybe spreading contaminates like you said. So why bother? Who here washes their veggies in SOAP and water? Anyone???
And while chicken may carry salmonella, it doesn't always. Just like a raw egg may or may not.

I know it's been discussed here before about what has been acceptable in the past and what is actually correct nowadays, or even moreso in restaurants, in the preparation of food, but I think a quick rinse will get rid of surface contaminants. I had a butcher tell me that before, also. I doubted him at the time. Now I'm not so sure.
My veggies shall see no soap, scented or otherwise ;)
 
I wash and rub or scrub all vegetables before I use them. I may not be getting rid of e.coli (sp?) or salmonella but I think I'm getting rid of the dirt and anything nasty that could have been on the hands that touched them before I bought them..I even rinse mushrooms. I rinse the heck out of chicken before i cook it. Some of the chefs on TV gross me out the way they clean veggies, esp Rachel Ray.
I dont use soap;)
 
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I never use soap when cleaning food, as soap (even trace amounts) can lead to diahrea and vomiting at least as bad as some of the food poisonings.

I had to take a Food Safe course once for a job I was doing, and one of the things they spoke of aside from germs was contamination from chemicals. There were some rules of thumb that were hammered home:

1. Never store cleaners or other non-food items above foods. If they leak, you don't want them getting into the food.

2. Never store anything but food in a container that originally stored food. That way no one can mistakenly eat something deadly, thinking it was food simply because of the package.

3. If you store any chemical in a container other than its original package, label it clearly on all sides as poisonous, or at least non-edible.
 
well it`s a good job I don`t cook food in the Lab then!

(well other than the odd beaker of coffee over the bunsen or that single malt in the Volumetric Flask I keep stashed away):ermm:

anyway, I decided against eating any of it, I couldn`t even compost it because of the salad dressing.

I felt kinda bad throwing it away almost guilty, but then I saw it from the Chickens point of view, and I didn`t feel so bad then :LOL:
 
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