Ensuring Microbial Quality of Protein Salads in the Retail Environment

Over 20 years of laboratory analysis of food items collected during routine food safety inspections has confirmed to us the importance of treating vegetables and other raw items added to protein salads, including tuna, chicken, ham, turkey, and shrimp/seafood salads.

In the past, we recommend blanching vegetables in boiling water for at least one minute to reduce microbial load without significantly altering taste and texture.

Now, with the advent of chemicals such as periacetic acid, we can now assure the safety of vegetables and even fresh herbs, without the blanching process, which so often was either not completed due to time constraints or was not completed properly, resulting in vegetables that were cooked rather than blanched.

Indeed, the safety of produce and vegetable items is now more than ever at the forefront of food safety in the news.