[hedgetrimmer]

it is routinely "sprinkled" with ditch water on the way to market to keep it from wilting.

It also depends on where they get the water to make the ice they use to cool it with.

[ndt]

"Strawberries can be contaminated too. It also depends on where they get the water to make the ice they use to cool it with."

True on both accounts.

As far as fresh produce goes, it is "field crops" that you have to worry about, those that lie low to the ground and are likely to be in direct contact with contaminated water. Strawberries are a perfect example.

One big point to remember though is that even with contaminated crops, cooking will render them safe. Of course, who wants to eat cooked lettuce?

Now, to go totally anecdotal for a second. I eat a ton of vegetables (wife is a vegetarian) and all of them come from Central and South America because that is where I live. I have never had a problem with the veggies.

I did get dysentery once (sickest I have ever felt, I thought I was going to die) but it was not from vegetables, it was from a meat empanada (salteña actually) that I bought from a street vendor in Peru (bad call on my part). I still eat from street vendors, but only the ones I can see cooking the food.