Please romaine calm- there might be cancer-causing compounds in your lettuce

Washing fruits and vegetables before eating is standard practice- a good scrub removes dirt as well as bacteria that can make us sick. However, there’s more to this story- researchers at Georgia Tech found cancer-causing compounds inside the produce, as a result of industrial washing. In a recently published paper, they took the first step, looking at the leftover water used to wash the produce. Chlorinated wash water plays an important role in making sure produce is safe to eat, by eliminating harmful bacteria, but at what cost?

My latest is out for envirobites! Bonus, I got to chat with my lab-mate Wan-ning Lee about her work.

Link here: https://envirobites.org/2018/06/07/please-romaine-calm-there-might-be-cancer-causing-compounds-in-your-lettuce-and-fruits-and-other-vegetables/