Do "triple washed" salad greens need to be inspected for bugs?

Question

I've seen a few bags of salad greens marked "triple washed". I did a Google search and there seems to be some debate on whether it needs to be rewashed after you buy it.

This article says

If you've ever grown lettuce or been in a field of it, you know that greens grow pretty close to the ground and can have a hefty amount of dirt on them.

So producers wash their greens before they bag them.

"Many precut, bagged, or packaged produce items are prewashed and ready to eat," according to the FDA. "If so, it will be stated on the packaging, and you can use the produce without further washing."

The triple-washed process doesn't just use water; it also uses sanitizers to kill bacteria and other pathogens

I'm uncertain what to make of this in terms of halacha. The washing kills bacteria. I'm assuming that if it kills bacteria, it must be killing the bugs, too, but it's unclear how thoroughly this washing is eliminating dead bugs.

Does anyone know what actually happens, and if one can use these types of products without having to inspect the leaves yourself?

Answer 1

From a lecture heard at the STAR-K, given by Rabbi Tendler, there is no qualification halacha-wise for what "triple wash" means since there is no industry guarantee regarding what triple wash is consistently and across companies. Technically, you could check the company's triple wash and see if there are bugs, but that might not even allow you to eat the produce next time as different crops in different fields have different levels of infestation.

Answer 2

This article from Star K categorises vegetables into groups -

1) Permitted without washing or checking

2) Permitted only after peeling and/or washing

3) Permitted only after checking

4) Not recommended due to the difficulties inherent in checking properly.

This article shows that for lettuce and other leafy vegetables, checking is necessary (they recommend the "thrip cloth" method) and washing or rinsing well is insufficient. The article says

If insects are still found on the third try, the produce should not be used.

So Star K seep to accept the possibility that after washing (with water and a non-bleach and non-toxic dishwasher detergent solution) insects can still be found (in which case the produce must be discarded).

I conclude that triple-washing will not be sufficient at least for Star K.

CYLOR.

BTW the "thrip cloth" method does not require examination of the leaves only the wash water.