Safety of Flooded Garden Produce
As a result of recent flooding, many questions have been raised about the safety of consuming produce from gardens that were under water. If floodwaters have covered a garden, some produce will be unsafe to eat.
The safety of unharvested fruits and vegetables depends on:
• Kind of produce
• Maturity of produce at the time of flooding
• Severity of flooding (depth of water and silt)
• Duration of flooding
• Likelihood of contamination from sewage, other bacterial contaminants or industrial pollutants. (Raw sewage contains bacteria that can cause illness if contaminated fruit or vegetables are eaten.)
The safest answer would be to discard all produce that was covered by contaminated flood water. This would include root crops such as carrots, potatoes, and beets.
Leafy vegetables such as lettuce, spinach or other greens should be discarded because it's not possible to thoroughly clean them, and they have many ridges and crevices that could contain contaminated silt or bacteria. (If they are cut back the regrowth should be fine to eat.)
Vegetables that result from flowers produced on growth that develops after flood waters recede should be acceptable. To increase safety, cook them thoroughly, or at least wash them and peel them before eating.
Tree fruit that remained well above flood water should be fine, but keep in mind currents and splashing could cause bacteria to get higher in the tree than the water line. Surviving fruit that was submerged should probably not be consumed unless it is more than a month until harvest. It would be best to peel any peaches that were submerged. Don't consume contaminated strawberries. Silt and other contaminants might be embedded in the fruit and could be difficult to remove.
Gardeners should keep in mind that although pathogens will eventually die out, they can remain present in the soil for several months. If the homeowner knows the area was contaminated with sewage, it is recommended that no produce be used from the garden for at least 90 days.
Remember, as always, fruits and vegetables should be thoroughly washed prior to consumption.
By Duane Gissel, ISU Extension Scott County Horticulturist and Patrick O’Malley, ISU Extension Eastern Iowa Commercial Horticulturist