Question from R.S.
Hi Debra,
I try to avoid pre-packaged convenience foods to the best of my ability, but, like most people I have a very busy life and so I can’t make everything from scratch myself. I have two questions about convenience foods I frequently use. Are the bagged lettuces and pre washed vegetables (such as broccoli) safe? I do not mean in regards to salmonella, as much as the method in which they wash the produce, etc? While I realize cleaning a head of lettuce of broccoli does not take a lot of time- things add up, so I love using these products.
Second, I try to limit all the “health” food products with soy in them, mostly because and I don’t like the estrogenic like effect soy has and I have read that the soy used in processed goods is not high quality. However, I have noticed that almost all products (even health food brand products) now use soy lecithin as an emulsifier even in an otherwise soy free product (ex: graham crackers, bread, granola bars) Does soy lecithin also contain the estrogen type effect? Do you recommend avoiding it? Thanks!
Debra’s Answer
The problems with prewashed vegetables in plastic bags could be:
1) pesticides on the vegetables
2) pollutants in the water they were washed in
3) plastic residues from the bag
The ideal would be organic produce, not in a plastic bag, washed in filtered or spring water.
In the overall scheme of things, these contaminants in packaged prewashed vegetables are relatively minor, but can add up over time and increase overall load.
