Indeed. Directly from the CDC[1]: > Sometimes, raw fruits and vegetables contain harmful germs that can make you and your family sick, such as Salmonella, E. c

Indeed. Directly from the CDC[1]: > Sometimes, raw fruits and vegetables contain harmful germs that can make you and your family sick, such as Salmonella, E. coli, and Listeria. CDC estimates that germs on fresh produce cause a large percentage of foodborne illnesses in the United States. The safest produce to eat is cooked; the next safest is washed. How large of a percentage? About 45.9% of US food poisoning in the US is attributed to produce (of which 11.7% fruit-nuts, 34.2% vegetables), vs 47.8% to animals (of which 6.1% seafood, 13.8% dairy, 6.0% eggs, 22.0% meat-poultry)[2]. I suspect there's quite a bit of risk-compensating behavior at work here. We tend to hear a lot more about the dangers of raw meat, eggs and seafood than of raw vegetables, which probably makes people much more wary about them. [2] https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/19/3/11-1866-t1 https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/19/3/11-1866-t1 [1] https://www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/communication/steps-healthy-fruits-veggies.html https://www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/communication/steps-healthy-f...