Question:

If I buy bagged lettuce and it says “triple-washed," do I have to wash it, or is it okay to eat as is?

Answer:

In theory, you don't have to wash bagged veggies labeled “washed," “triple-washed," or “ready-to-eat" (RTE), but ever since that dodgy E. coli breakout connected to bagged spinach, I wash fresh greens no matter what the bag says. But there's almost no way of removing 100 percent of the harmful bacteria if it's on your greens. Prewashed bagged greens are soaked in a chlorine-water solution, but the process only kills 90 to 99 percent of microbes. Even washing your greens again at home is no guarantee that you'll wash away bacteria that might be lurking.

You can buy a commercial fruit/veggie wash, but those products are really just overpriced versions of a vinegar-water solution you can make at home. Simply dump 1/4 cup of white vinegar into a bowl of cold water, let your greens sit in this bath for a few minutes, then rinse again with cold water. I've also heard of adding baking soda to cold water to clean dirty greens (like the stuff you might find at a farmer's market with lots of dirt still attached).

DO NOT wash your greens in your kitchen sink -- unless you've scoured it with bleach and rinsed it clean. There's a high risk of cross-contaminating your food with gunk stuck in your sink and around the drain, so it's better to use a separate container to wash and rinse veggies. The bowl of a salad spinner is perfect for the job.

What about fruits and veggies with rinds that you don't eat (think: avocado, melon)? When you cut through the fruit or vegetable, the knife blade can drag any bacteria from the outer layer to the part that you eat, so be sure to wash any food you eat raw.