YONKERS, N.Y.—Consumer Reports’ latest tests of packaged leafy greens found bacteria that are common indicators of poor sanitation and fecal contamination, in some cases, at rather high levels.
Consumer Reports had an outside lab test 208 containers of 16 brands of salad greens, sold in plastic clamshells or bags, bought last summer from stores in Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York. The lab tested for total coliforms and other bacteria, including enterococcus, that are better indicators of fecal contamination, and found 39 percent of samples exceeded that level for total coliforms and 23 percent for enterococcus. The tests did not find E. coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes or Salmonella.
Results varied widely among samples, even within the same brand, from undetectable levels of those bacteria to more than 1 million CFU/g. Packages with higher bacteria levels had similarities. Many contained spinach and were one to five days from their use-by date. Packages six to eight days from their use-by date fared better. Whether the greens came in a clamshell or bag, included "baby" greens, or were organic made no difference.
