A fabulous story I wish I hadn't read, Barb. It is all so sickening

I have had food poisoning once, and I never want to experience it again. I wanted to die. Fortunately, unlike you, i recovered, but it took 24 hours.

Some years ago when I was teaching for Mission Australia, we shared a toilet with the people who worked in the restaurant next door.

I happened to remark that in all the time I used the toilets, I had never seen the staff next door wash their hands. It then dawned on the others, that neither had they, this in a restaurant where everything was laid out prettily on the plate...you know what they say, the more pretty your plate looks the more fingers have been on your food.Needless to say, none of us ate there.

As for the green vegetables having been 'washed', I read that they are washed in water that might be renewed once a day.

I buy organic, and I wash it thoroughly. I wash everything, even banana skins, and all fruit and vegetables.

Sadly one of the reasons we rarely go out to eat is because of the dubious hygiene in place.

Many years ago I read a novel by Upton Sinclair called The Jungle, about the horrors of the meat packing industry. It too was sickening and led to huge reform in the industry.

But that was moons ago. Now all you have to do is have the money to buy blind eyes to your shady practices.

I am an over-the-top hand washer. I used to wash meat too, until someone told me it wasn't a great thing to do.

Still, I am reminded of a group somewhere in Africa who were nose-to-tail eaters. They caught the interest of doctor because they almost never got sick and when it was their time to die, they just removed themselves away from the tribe.

They ate wild meat , lived a healthy life, and never washed their hands. He adopted the same principal and didn't get sick either.

So that leads me to wonder about the chemicals we use to keep ourselves clean.Are we keeping ourselves too clean?

PHEW! Pardon the article!!!