Garden veg: Plant to mouth?

[pennyp10]

Anyone ever looked into whether it is a good idea to let children pick and eat straight from the garden without washing the veg.

We always did this as kids and it never hurt us. Wondered if it was a good thing to get immune health or a bad thing that could cause a health risk?

[shovetheholly]

There are quite a lot of pathogens that live in manure and soil - I wouldn't give someone an unwashed carrot to chomp on! Things like leafy veg and courgettes are usually pretty filthy when you look at them, too.

I do, however, eat things like peas straight out of the pod. I figure the outside of the pod is what's dirty! I might also risk fruit if it's out of splash range of the ground!!