While we all love grabbing food from the convenience store, you might want to skip these four key dishes next time you're at the checkout.
This is after food safety experts raised some serious concerns about popular foods, with many being a breeding ground for bacteria (gross).
After they offered some much-needed food for thought, you might want to check out if your favourite made the stomach-churning list. We've added another that you'll want to check out below:
So, which foods should you be avoiding at grocery stores? According to a collective list by Kali Kniel, a microbiologist at the University of Delaware, and Dr. Bryan Quoc Le, a Washington-based food chemist and industry consultant, revealed to the Huffington Post, they are as follow:
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1. Raw sprouts
It might surprise you but raw sprouts should come with a pretty major warning, despite their supposed health benefits.
Before you abandon your Christmas dinner plans though, it turns out that alfalfa sprouts and clover are a particularly risky side dish.
Though beloved by hipsters and fans of avocado toast, the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says they often are swimming with salmonella and E.Coli.
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While you can eat them raw, it’s recommended that you steam them if you don’t want to feel seriously green.
2. Pre-cut produce
Sadly, it’s the same with pre-cut produce like veggies and fruits – which also will contain high levels of bad bacteria.
Microbiologist Kali Kniel revealed that these packets are actually the ‘most susceptible’ for several reasons.
She explained to the HuffPost that fruit skins will often contain tons of bacteria, as do pre-packed vegetables which get contaminated by dirty water and animal waste as they grow. (Grim!)
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3. Raw, unpasteurized milk
It seems it is not much fun down on the farm, with unpasteurized milk also having a similarly rotten reputation among experts.
The majority of milk is pasteurized, with bacteria being killed after the drink has been heated in a specialised process.
Raw milk, however, does get this treatment with drinkers potentially being exposed to Listeria, Salmonella and E.coli.
Experts even warn those with a weakened immune system to avoid it, as Dr. Bryan Quoc Le explained to the HuffPost.
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He told the outlet: “There are a lot of people who tout [raw] milk as having all these health benefits, but it’s just not worth the risk because there are a lot of pathogenic organisms that are still alive in that milk, especially if it’s coming straight from a processing facility.”
4. Hot food bars
If you think restaurants were any safer, especially all-you-can-eat joints, think again as Dr. Le also told readers to skip their favourite hot food bars.
According to the Washington consultant, hot dishes should be kept at 140 degrees Fahrenheit and cold kept under 41 degrees.
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Failure to do this results in bacteria rapidly growing, which is why that cheap meal might come back to bite you.
Maybe stick with the food you’ve got at home?
Topics: Food and Drink, US News, Health