Are Strawberries Safe? There Is Straw In The Field...

[psawyer]

I received this newsletter just now from the Canadian Celiac Association. It contains a discussion regarding the FAQ about straw in fields where crops are grown. While it is specific to strawberries, the points made apply to straw no matter what crop it may be next to. Scroll down to get to the part about straw.

Open Original Shared Link

[kareng]

I have seen the big commercial growers that grow strawberries in California. There is no straw anywhere. They are grown on long " mounds" of dirt covered in stuff that looks like black or whitish plastic. Perhaps smaller growers/ farms do grow them that way.

Glad to see that washing and eating is recommended!

[LauraTX]

It is also always a good idea toOpen Original Shared Link, because of germies.  Good info, Peter.

[greenbeanie]

What do you all think about letting a kid actually pick strawberries in a field with wheat or rye straw - safe, or too risky? This is something I always loved as a kid, but I've been reluctant to bring my daughter, who is now 6. There is straw between all the rows, which is probably rye straw because that's a more common cover crop in our area. Picking the strawberries involves crawling around directly on this straw on hands and knees for quite some time.

We have eaten berries from these same fields after washing them at home with no problems, but so far we've turned down strawberry-picking invitations. On one hand it seems like it would probably be fine because any grain dust on the straw has probably been washed into the soil by rain already...but I'm not sure it's worth the risk. It would be hard to forbid her from tasting strawberries in the field when everyone else is eating them, and if this required a bath and change of clothes immediately afterward, the outing would probably be more of an ordeal than a fun time. Has anyone taken a kid with celiac strawberry picking?