Fruit and Vegetable Juices
Ninety-eight percent of the juice sold in the United States is pasteurized (heat-processed to kill pathogenic bacteria). The remaining 2 percent is unpasteurized and may contain harmful bacteria. When fruits and vegetables are fresh-squeezed, harmful bacteria from the outside of the produce can become a part of the finished product. If it’s ingested, children, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems risk serious illness or even death.

Precautions for All Fruits, Vegetables and Juices

Fresh Fruits and Vegetables

• Check to be sure that the fresh fruits and vegetables you buy are not bruised or damaged. Check that fresh cut fruits and vegetables are refrigerated at the store before buying. Do not buy fresh cut items that are not refrigerated.
• Thoroughly rinse fresh fruits and vegetables under running tap water before eating them. Never use detergent or bleach to wash fresh fruits or vegetables. These products are not intended for consumption.
• Packaged fruits and vegetables labeled "ready-to-eat", "washed" or "triple washed" need not be washed.
• Keep fresh fruits and vegetables separate from raw meat, poultry or seafood in your refrigerator.
• Remove and throw away bruised or damaged portions of fruits and vegetables when preparing to cook them or before eating them raw. Find out more safety tips on fresh fruits and vegetables.

Fruit and Vegetable Juices

• Children, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems should drink only juices that have been pasteurized or otherwise treated to kill pathogenic bacteria.
• If you or someone in your family is in one of the at-risk groups and you cannot determine if a juice has been processed to destroy harmful bacteria, either don't use the product or bring it to a boil to kill any harmful bacteria that may be present.
• Pasteurized juice can be found in the refrigerated sections of stores. Like milk, pasteurized juice must be refrigerated.
• Treated juice consists of shelf-stable juice normally found in nonrefrigerated, shelf-stable containers, such as juice boxes, bottles or cans. It is treated at a much higher temperature than pasteurized juice and is packaged in special airtight containers.
• Unpasteurized or untreated juice is normally found in the refrigerated sections of grocery, health-food stores, cider mills or farm markets. Unpasteurized or untreated juice must have the following warning on the label:

  WARNING: This product has not been pasteurized and therefore may contain harmful bacteria that can cause serious illness in children, the elderly and persons with weakened immune systems.

Precautions for Specific Foods

Cantaloupe and Other Melons
Any bacteria on the outside of thick-skin fruits –such as cantaloupe and other melons--can be transferred to the inside when the fruit is cut or peeled. To prevent this --

• Rub firm-skin fruits and vegetables under running tap water or scrub with a clean vegetable brush while rinsing with running tap water.

Raw Sprouts
(including alfalfa, clover and radish)
Raw sprouts that are served on salads, wraps, and sandwiches may contain bacteria that can cause foodborne illness. Rinsing sprouts first will not remove bacteria. Home-grown sprouts also present a health risk if they are eaten raw or lightly cooked.

* To reduce the risk of illness, do not eat raw sprouts such as bean, alfalfa, clover, or radish sprouts. All sprouts should be cooked thoroughly before eating to reduce the risk of illness.

* This advice is particularly important for children, the elderly, and persons with weakened immune systems, all of whom are at risk of developing serious illness due to foodborne disease.

Did You Know…?

• On the average, each person in the United States eats more than 126 pounds of potatoes, 95 pounds of other vegetables and 92 pounds of fresh fruit each year.
• E. coli O157:H7 is very resistant to acid, so it can survive in an acidic medium like orange or apple juice for a long time.