Voice of London

According to the University of Leicester, our refrigerator and the salads we buy have something in common… BACTERIA

Reporter: Maria-Christina Chougkaeva

We all want something to snack on just before dinner once we get home after a long day.  Living in a busy city, we don’t have much time on our hands and we prefer something fast and healthy…something that will not make us feel guilty.

Pre-packed salads are something we prefer to buy and place them in our fridge to have once we get hungry. It’s a good preference that makes our life easier, yet the University of Leicester has a different opinion.

If you are that person who prefers buying pre-packaged salads than you should consume them as fast as possible. The research showed that the moist environment the refrigerator has, combined with the chopped pieces of salad can produce the perfect habitat for bacteria.

The bacteria of salmonella is mostly found in the spinach leaves yet the e.coli bacteria is produced in rocket salads.

The research also showed that the initial number of 100 salmonella bacteria can develop into 100.000 in only five days. This amount is more than enough to result in food poisoning.

Despite the fact that vegetables are good for us and are considered healthy, they may cause epidemic poisoning if we are not careful.

Of course this doesn’t mean we should stop eating pre-packed salads. In fact, we should choose them with the longest expiry date and consume straight away after buying them.

Don’t forget that once the pack with the salad has inflated than it’s better to throw it away.