I'll have a large salad. Hold the poo, thanks.

Washing fruits and vegetables may seem like an inconvenient and extra step in the process between buying groceries and eating dinner, but it could save your life. Thanks to alert reader and serious foodie Keeman for pointing out the risks of not washing your food. A 2002 survey published in the Journal of Food Protection estimated that each year 65 million to 81 million Americans become sick from eating food prepared at home. And little germs that ride in on your groceries have a lot to do with that.

Lately, media attention has turned to fresh fruits and vegetables contaminated with harmful bacteria such as e. coli and salmonella, or the hepatitis A virus. The Centre for Disease Control says that produce is responsible for 12% of outbreaks of food-borne illness. There are many opportunities for food to be contaminated when it goes from farm to plate. For most of us, gone are the days of pulling up carrots and potatoes in the garden and cooking up a chicken from our own barn. Now our food is likely to have passed through at least 10 pairs of hands before it gets into ours. And mass-scale farming and food production often results in hard-to-monitor inconsistencies in ensuring food's safety.

Vegetables such as sprouts and lettuces can be infected with e.coli from food handlers. Fruits such as cantaloupe can be infected by manure or irrigation water, get mixed up with meat improperly stored during transport or tainted by grocers or customers who didn't wash their hands.

We know we need to eat our fruits and veggies, but it makes it a more difficult prospect when there are concerns about food safety. One thing to do is to look for organic produce, which must uphold very high standards for the environment in which they are grown. Another way is to wash all your produce even when bagged or peeled. More tips can be found here.

The CDC recommends washing all produce in "clean, running tap water" even if the rind or peel is not going to be eaten. They say fruit and vegetable sprays are not necessary as "no washing method has been found to remove all microbes". It's a small argument for cooking your food too, as few microbes are able to withstand high temperatures. However, some nutrients and enzymes also may not survive this process.

Finally, don't forget to try and support your local organic farmers. There's nothing quite like going to a market and picking up a vegetable that looks like it was picked this morning and held by one other person than yourself. Now that's fresh!!