Why Fresh Toppings Are Fast Food’s Weakest Link

Let’s say you just ordered a burger or a taco. Most of what you’re about to eat has gone through some form of cooking before it’s served. 

The meat came off a hot grill, the cheese melted against it, some of the vegetables were roasted or sautéed, and so on. But then you have things like lettuce and herbs, which are different. Before they’re served, they’re usually washed and chopped. There’s no cooking involved because whatever’s served fresh is supposed to be like that. 

It’s supposed to preserve its texture and taste, so cooking or grilling lettuce wouldn’t be ideal.

That being said, fresh ingredients don’t have that extra protection that comes from heat.

If the lettuce gets contaminated at any point (e.g., growing, processing, transportation), you’ll probably eat contaminated lettuce. And since big fast food chains all get prepared toppings from centralized suppliers, one problematic batch can mean that several restaurants end up having issues. Watch this NBC News reel to learn more:

How One Batch Can Get to Hundreds of Restaurants

That fresh tomato or lettuce on your sandwich went through several businesses before it got to the restaurant that sold you the sandwich. 

Take lettuce, for example. It may have been grown and harvested in one place, washed and shredded at a processing plant, packed under who knows how many labels, and then sent through regional distribution centers. 

By the time it reached your sandwich, it could have traveled thousands of miles.

Thanks to this system, fast food chains can make sure their portions and ingredients are consistent, and restaurants save a lot of time when they get bags of lettuce that have already been washed and cut. That said, this also means that the same equipment handles produce from several farms or fields, and if some of it is contaminated, one bad batch can spread that contamination to many other packages.

People are quick to blame the kitchens for outbreaks, but that doesn’t have to be their starting point. 

The source of contamination could be a farm, a processing facility, a wash system, or any part of the distribution chain. If you’ve been keeping up with the news, you may have heard of the New York Taco Bell Cyclospora lawsuit and are now afraid to eat at Taco Bell or even eat lettuce in general. But if you’re looking for someone to point a finger at, well… This incident could have been caused by many things. Watch this ABC news reel to learn more:

Why Fresh Toppings Need ‘Extra’ Care

You might think that fresh is fresh and it can stay around longer because it’s fresh. Well… that’s not necessarily true, and there’s more than one reason for that.

Chopping Means More Points of Contact

If you look at a whole vegetable, you see that it has an outer surface, and that gives it some sort of protection. But once you cut a tomato, everything inside of it gets exposed. The product comes into contact with blades, conveyor belts, wash tanks, containers, work surfaces, and equipment used for packaging.

If it’s a large processing facility, all that equipment handles a lot of produce from many farms. If one batch that comes in is contaminated, the contamination can spread to other produce.

They’re Not Cooked Before They’re Served

High temperatures can kill a lot of harmful microorganisms, which is why your burger patty or hot taco filling has a lot less chance of being contaminated than a fresh tomato. Professionals call this a ‘kill step’, and fresh toppings don’t get it. Onions, herbs, lettuce, and tomatoes usually get added at the end, right before serving, so if they’re contaminated, the microorganisms can get into the rest of the food.

And refrigeration won’t help this. It can slow the growth of some bacteria and parasites, sure, but it doesn’t remove them.

Washing Can Only Do So Much

Rinsing is useful, but it’s not magic. 

Water can remove visible soil and some microorganisms from the surface, but it can’t eliminate everything that could be harmful. So, when you see those ‘prewashed’ or ‘ready to eat’ products, they’re not 100% safe. Washing can lower some risks, but it can’t destroy contamination. And rewashing can even make things worse if the sink or the surfaces around it aren’t clean.

Also, washing doesn’t magically make recalled products safe. If the product has to be recalled, the only response to that is to stop serving it and dispose of it.

Conclusion

Fresh toppings are the simplest part of a fast food meal, but keeping them safe is anything but simple. They don’t have the benefit of being cooked before being served, so their safety depends on the entire system involved in getting them prepared.

Keep in mind that this doesn’t mean that lettuce and onions aren’t safe or that you should run the other way the moment you see fresh parsley. 

But you DO need to be aware of where protection comes from, and how to respond in case of an outbreak.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are fresh toppings like lettuce and tomatoes safe to eat?

Yes. Fresh lettuce, tomatoes, onions, herbs and other raw toppings can absolutely be part of a safe meal. The issue is that they don’t get a cooking step that would kill many harmful microorganisms, so their safety depends on proper growing, processing, washing, storage and handling throughout the supply chain.

Can lettuce cause food poisoning?

It can, although that doesn’t mean lettuce is inherently unsafe. Raw produce can become contaminated with bacteria, parasites or other microorganisms at different points between the farm and your plate. If contaminated lettuce makes it through processing and ends up being eaten raw, it can potentially cause foodborne illness.

Why can one contaminated batch affect so many restaurants?

Large food-service companies often buy ingredients from centralised suppliers and distribution networks. A single batch of lettuce or another fresh ingredient can therefore be processed, packaged and distributed to many different restaurants. If contamination occurs somewhere along that chain, the same ingredient can potentially reach a large number of locations.

Does washing lettuce remove all harmful bacteria and parasites?

No. Washing can remove dirt and reduce some microorganisms on the surface, but it cannot guarantee that produce is free from harmful contamination. This is why washing is only one part of food safety rather than a complete solution.

Does pre-washed or ready-to-eat lettuce mean it is completely safe?

Not necessarily. “Pre-washed” and “ready-to-eat” mean the product has undergone a washing or processing step, but they aren’t a guarantee that every harmful microorganism has been eliminated. Ready-to-eat produce still needs to be handled and stored properly.

Can refrigeration kill bacteria on fresh produce?

Refrigeration generally doesn’t kill all bacteria or parasites that may be present on food. Instead, it can slow the growth of some microorganisms. That’s why keeping fresh toppings cold is important, but refrigeration shouldn’t be viewed as a substitute for proper food handling or cooking.

Why aren’t fresh toppings cooked before being added to fast food?

Usually, it’s because cooking would change the texture, flavour and appearance that people expect from fresh toppings. Crisp lettuce, fresh herbs, tomatoes and onions are generally added raw so they retain those qualities. The trade-off is that they don’t receive the same heat treatment as cooked ingredients.

Where can contamination of fresh produce happen?

Contamination can happen at several stages, including during growing and harvesting, processing, washing, cutting, packaging, transportation or food preparation. That means an outbreak involving lettuce or another fresh ingredient doesn’t automatically mean the restaurant where it was served was the original source.

Can washing recalled lettuce make it safe to eat?

No. If a particular product has been recalled because of suspected or confirmed contamination, washing it at home or in a restaurant should not be considered a way to make it safe. The appropriate response is to follow the recall instructions and stop using the affected product.

Should you stop eating lettuce because of a foodborne illness outbreak?

Not necessarily. A foodborne illness outbreak involving a particular supplier, product or batch doesn’t mean that all lettuce is dangerous. The sensible approach is to pay attention to official recalls and outbreak information, avoid affected products and follow food-safety guidance rather than assuming every fresh vegetable is unsafe.