cleaning lettuce

[Anonymous]

How do you clean your lettuce during pregnancy to avoid listeria and other problems?

Vinegar and water bath? Something else? For how long?

[Anonymous]

vinegar is enough. wash it thoroughly rubbing it between your fingers and prepare the bath with cold water - 2 tbs for 1 liter of water for 15 minutes

[Anonymous]

i don't eat lettuce during my pregnancy. the risk is too great. i can't believe your OB didn't warn you off lettuce.

[Anonymous]

are you serious?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:i don't eat lettuce during my pregnancy. the risk is too great. i can't believe your OB didn't warn you off lettuce.

I assume this is a joke. The funny thing is that women in Europe are often encouraged to have wine but not to have lettuce.

[Anonymous]

I truly hope this is a joke! Seriously, lettuce??

[Anonymous]

Make sure you wear gloves and a mask - I got mine at CVS. Also useful for when you have to eat out where there is the potential for salad-eaters.

[Anonymous]

Dip the leaves in vodka.

(Seriously, I just washed it in the sink like I normally do.)

[Anonymous]

OP here, it's not a joke. I'm not saying we should run from the salad bar but are you all saying you have never heard this? This is my second pregnancy and I've heard this from two different OBs and at least half of the regular (not crunchy) pregnancy books I have.

[Anonymous]

Is there any food that is completely safe during pregnancy, according to everyone?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is there any food that is completely safe during pregnancy, according to everyone?

I don't know. But (OP here again) I eat a ton of stuff. I wasn't saying no lettuce I just don't see the big hassle in throwing it in a vinegar and water bath if that is what works. If everyone else wants to eat lettuce as it, go for it. The chances of sickness are pretty darn low.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here, it's not a joke. I'm not saying we should run from the salad bar but are you all saying you have never heard this? This is my second pregnancy and I've heard this from two different OBs and at least half of the regular (not crunchy) pregnancy books I have.

No, I've never heard this. My OB certainly didn't say anything, and if it was in any of the many pregnancy books I read, I must have glossed over it. I even did a google search when I saw your post to see if I had missed something, and the first few links that came up talked about how lettuce is good for you during pregnancy - nothing about listeria.

[Anonymous]

If you do a web search for some combination of "salad lettuce listeria pregnancy" you'll get a lot of European, Canadian, and Australian sites. I don't know if that is because the risk of salad is higher in those places or if it is just another random way in which the US treats pregnancy differently from other countries.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you do a web search for some combination of "salad lettuce listeria pregnancy" you'll get a lot of European, Canadian, and Australian sites. I don't know if that is because the risk of salad is higher in those places or if it is just another random way in which the US treats pregnancy differently from other countries.

I agree with this. I am from Europe and my friends at home are told not to eat lettuce at all during pregnancy. I was very surprised when my Ob in the US did not tell me anything about lettuce and I am surprised to see that American women eat lettuce while pregnant....Maybe lettuce is "cleaner" in the US, I don't know...

[Anonymous]

Ate a ton of greens while pregnant, just washed in normal water and spun dry. I'm partial to hydroponic greens though and mostly ate hydroponic lettuce from the farmers' market which isn't grown in soil. Loudon Lettuce is great and they sell at Dupont, Bethesda and Penn Quarter markets. I've also seen their greens (washed and bagged) at Cowgirl Creamery.