HELPFUL HINTS FROM EXPERTS Tips For Buying, Storing And Preparing Produce Hr (NAPSA)—The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) would like to remind you that fruits and vegetables are an important part of a healthy diet. Like any other food, it is important to handle fresh produce safely to prevent illness. Use thesetips: Buying Tips Whenselecting fresh-cut pro- duce, choose only those items that are refrigerated or surrounded by ice. Bag fresh fruits and vegetables separately from meat, poultry and seafood when packing them to take home. Storage Tips All produce should be thoroughly washedbefore eating. e Store certain perishable fresh fruits and vegetables (like straw- Wash fruits and vegetables under temperature of 40 degrees F. or below. e All produce that is purchased precut or peeled should be refrigerated. Preparation and Handling produce before eatingit, it is still important to washitfirst. e Drying produce with a clean berries, lettuce, herbs and mushrooms) in a clean refrigerator at a Tips e Wash your hands for 20 sec- onds with warm water and soap running water just before eating, cutting or cooking. e Even if you plan to peel the cloth towel or paper towel may further reduce bacteria that may be present. e Many precut, bagged produce items such as lettuce are prewashed. If so, it will be stated on before and after preparing fresh produce. bagged produce can be used with- bruised areas on fresh fruits before preparing or eating. It if looks rot- dling fresh produce, visit the FDA Cut away any damaged or ten, it should be discarded. e All produce should be thoroughly washed before eating. the packaging. This prewashed, out further washing. For more information on han- Web site at http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/ prodsafe.html.
