A new report from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is sure to have you remembering to wash your avocados before eating them!

The FDA just completed a two year investigation of avocados in which they looked at the prevalence of bacteria on the produce. Officials looked at 1,615 samples of avocados, 70 percent of which were imported to reflect the respective US market at the time. They tested each sample for salmonella on the skin, and less than 1% were found to contain the bacteria.

Unfortunately, officials also found that 17% of the samples contained listeria on the skin, which is why they have issued a warning to all avocado lovers about the importance of washing the food before eating it.

The officials explained that when you cut into an avocado, you run the risk of transferring the bacteria to the pulp of the produce. This bacteria is not something that you want to take lightly, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has stated that 1.2 million illness and 450 deaths occur in the United States because of Salmonella each year. They also reported that around 1,600 people get listeriosis, the infection resulting from listeria contamination each year, and about 260 people die from it.

Some symptoms of listeriosis are muscle aches, fever, flu-like symptoms, nausea, and diarrhea. The FDA stated that they will “continue to evaluate methods to reduce microbial contamination of avocados and avocado products” as well as “sample whole fresh avocados using its longstanding approach to food sampling.”

Please SHARE this story so your friends and family can see this warning as well!