Why are foil wrapped baked potatoes and other cooked vegetables considered potentially hazardous foods?
Raw vegetables do not provide the right environment for foodborne microorganisms to grow, but it’s a different story once they’ve been cooked. Foil wrapped baked potatoes, grilled onions, and refried beans have all been known to cause outbreaks of foodborne illness. The cooking process introduces extra moisture and may alter the vegetable’s pH, allowing foodborne pathogens, which are naturally found on vegetables that grown on or in the soil, to grow. Care must be taken to properly cook, hold, cool and reheat vegetables to prevent the conditions that will allow foodborne pathogens to grow. Back To Top • Why are sprouts a potentially hazardous food? Sprouts have only recently emerged as a recognized cause of foodborne illness. Since 1995, health officials have attributed 13 food-borne disease outbreaks worldwide to sprouts. Ten of these outbreaks occurred in the United States, resulting in illnesses in at least 956 Americans and at least one death. Four of the outbreaks were caused by s
