Is this lettuce safe to eat?
Sam wrote:
I planted lettuce in the fall of last year. I live in Tennessee. It
never really grew. We had a cold winter, got snow,frost, etc. Now
it's spring and the lettuce is now doing great. A few spots, but
looks great for the most part. Is it still safe to eat?
There is nothing inherently wrong with old lettuce that has grown slowly
other than it could be bitter to taste. This bitterness is not harmful just
unpleasant. Lettuce and other salad vegetables get to be dangerous due to
unsafe handling practices where they are contaminated with fecal coliforms.
This is most often during preparation. If you observe normal food handling
precautions and wash it in clean water there should be no problem. If the
spots are unsightly trim them out.
David
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