If guacamole is on your holiday menu take note.
The Food and Drug Administration is recommending the public thoroughly wash the peel of an avocado even though it’s not going to be consumed.
In samples taken by the FDA during a study between 2014 and 2016, nearly 18 percent of avocado skins tested positive for listeria.
The agency says washing the avocado skin thoroughly is a way to prevent bacteria and contaminants from getting on your knife and transferring it into the avocado as you cut into it.
Less than 1 percent of the part you actually eat tested positive for the harmful bacteria.
The FDA says to further reduce the risk, it’s important to scrub the peel with a produce brush and dry it on a clean paper towel before cutting or peeling it.
