There isn’t a ton of research on how much bacteria washing can remove, Schaffner said, but it only takes a few particles on a piece of produce to make you sick. This is especially true for parasites like Cyclospora that cling tightly to produce, Coffman added.
Some pathogens can also make their way inside fruit or vegetables. For example, studies have shown that E. coli can enter tomatoes through the stem scar, where it’s protected from surface washing, Coffman said.3
That’s where other food safety practices come into play, like cooking, refrigerating, and preventing cross-contamination.
This all sounds overwhelming and may leave you wondering if anything is actually safe to eat—but Schaffner said most fresh produce in the U.S. is pathogen-free, and there’s no reason to avoid anything not under recall.
“There may be certain types of produce that are more commonly associated with outbreaks in any given year,” he said, “but I would not recommend avoiding certain types of produce because of a higher risk, since the risk of everything is very low.”
