Kislev 19, 5779
November 27, 2018
The CDC has updated its alert regarding Romaine lettuce. You may find further information at the following link: https://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/general/1630915/us-officials-its-ok-to-eat-some-romaine-lettuce-again.html
While I cannot accept legal responsibility for the following information, I am sharing it for those people who may find it helpful.
Pos’Tiv and Kosher Gardens Romaine lettuce are grown on dedicated fields and in a controlled environment. The current outbreak should not affect them.
Bodek has been laboratory tested and was found not to be contaminated.
Dark green leafy vegetables have many health benefits. Simply “staying away from vegetables” may be an unhealthy choice. As many healthy vegetables are “at risk” for contamination, I recommend that the same procedures recommended for insect removal be used for safety as well. I feel that it is wise to use the following procedures even for raw produce that does not require checking according to halocha. I suggest following these procedures even when there are no active health alerts. For halocha reasons we recommend soaking broccoli and cauliflower in a warm solution of FIT or liquid detergent for twenty minutes prior to rinsing vigorously and very thoroughly. The last rinse water must be checked with a thrip cloth.
Use FIT (available at Amazon or FITWASH.COM) or Regal vegi-wash (available at Webstaurantstore.com). Use at least 3X the recommended amount and vigorously swish the produce in the solution for at least 1 minute. (Some people use 2 Tablespoons of liquid dish-washer soap (such as DAWN) per gallon of water because it is much less expensive than FIT and REGAL. I prefer FIT or Regal for health reasons.) Rinse very well. Check the last rinse water for infestation with a thrip cloth. I have large thrip cloths available for sale at $10 each. I also have a limited amount of vegi-wash available for sale.
(Contaminated produce should not be used even when carefully cleaned.)