To not wash my fruit and veg before cooking/eating?

[AmserGwin]

Inspired by the bin thread. How many of you actually wash your fruit and/or veg before eating or cooking it? I never have, do people really do this?

pah - I don't think glyphosate has been banned

thesleepystorm

See my post - not dramatic!

Ah my mistake, I was misinformed!

We should get the whole allotment thread gang in here!

I am absolutely a fan of evidence-based approaches. However, I think it's important to remember that 'no evidence of harm' is not 'proof of safety'. This is particularly the case given the timescales that are involved in gathering evidence: time and time again, harm can't be fully proven for decades, by which time a lot of damage has been done. If you want an example, just look at PCBs. These were marketed by Monsanto as a miracle product in the first half of the twentieth century, only for evidence to emerge of several environmental and health impacts in the 1960s.

Some of the companies involved in the production of pesticides and herbicides are among the most evil organisations on the planet, Monsanto foremost amongst them (to the point that there is a regular show trial where campaigners bring them to book before a fictional UN tribunal at the Hague). They have serious resources, which they are prepared to bring against anyone who opposes them. So when weighing up the evidence, it's worth bearing in mind that some very powerful and rich people have a very deep interest in arguing one side of the case.

www.monsanto-tribunal.org/why-a-tribunal

Good French documentary on Monsanto here, for anyone interested:

pinkie1982, I'm very sorry about your Nan. I hope she makes a good recovery and is out of hospital soon.

This thread has terrified me. I don't always remember to wash veg and can't afford organic stuff. Am I really going to get cancer because of it?

Those fruit and vegetables have often traveled hundreds, even thousands, of miles to get to you. The last step before getting to you was a big pile in a bin in the store.

In that space, you don't know if that produce has been dropped, rolled, had something set upon it, sneezed on, handled with with dirty hands, pawed by a toddler with a runny nose, or had bugs crawling on it due to a rotted neighbor.

I would wash or rinse it.

I do and surprisingly, I'm never ill either. There's a big difference between washing foodstuffs and being OTT about germs and cleanliness. After working with some Environmental Health Inspectors a few years ago, I was shocked at just how much dirt etc can get onto your food. I'm not talking about so-called 'healthy' dirt such as eating strawberries out of your garden, I mean the chemicals that can be sprayed on the food, the various processes that it can go through and what / who touches it on its way to your fridge.

A supermarket can have high hygiene standards but you've no idea if anyone down the process line bothered to wash their hands after going to the loo. Rats scampering over food and packaging is also not unheard of, as is the possibility of animals weeing against the pile of vegetables / crates of food etc.

I rinse all fruit and veg, just to wash off whatever crap it has been covered in in the field or in transit. I'm less concerned about bugs than chemicals.

A quick rinse under the tap.

yolanda - I'm not an expert, but one thing we seem to be learning about cancer is that it's a complex group of diseases and with many of them there's not one single cause. With some kinds, there are things you can do to increase or decrease your risk, but there are no guarantees. In the grand scheme of things, it may well be that a whole host of agents we're pouring into our environment aren't helping. Washing fruit and veg - and not trusting big corporations to tell you the truth - are two tiny things you can do.

I always washed 'ready to eat' salad leaves after finding a caterpillar pupa in a bag of them. Stopped buying them altogether after I got the free gift of a live fly in a sealed bag of the stuff! Now I only buy loose fruit & veg, not pre packed, and everything gets a ruddy good wash!

Yes, I do. DH is a biologist and scared me...have a look at this: www.decodedscience.org/parasitic-protozoa-on-fruits-and-vegetables/27502
Also, fruit and veg are sprayed with chemicals - wouldn't want to eat those that are on the surface either. I also gouge out where apple stalks are as this is where sprayed chemicals are likely to collect.

Only for things that look dirty and for lettuce/cabbage/cauliflower type veg that could have bugs lurking between the leaves. I heard a horror story about watercress once which I won't share here as it probably isn't true and will give you all nightmares but put it this way- if I ever buy that it gets a very long soak...

I wash / peel most fruit & veg & always have. But I don't tend to wash raspberries as they go mushy. Ditto most berries.

I do rinse strawberries, blueberries and blackberries before giving to daughter but that's it. Don't ever rinse anything else.

Anyone know the first name of the toddler sitting in the cot in the new pampers ad my 5 year old son is besotted and wants a baby sister no chance but it would be nice to know her name thanks

Is it a lack of imagination or what that's the issue for non-washers?

Most fruit and veg is 'loose' in shops (unless you only ever buy wrapped.)

The items may have been picked up by people who look at them before putting them back. I did that with an aubergine yesterday, choosing the best one.

It is surely obvious that people will sneeze on food, touch food when they've been picking their noses, or going to the loo. (On another note I'm amazed at women using loos in supermarkets who exit and go back to their trolley without washing their hands.)

You are also pushing a trolley which will have had thousands of hands over it including snotty kids', then handling produce.

Even if you just want to reduce cold germs and other virus, washing helps.

I don't get why people don't wash berries- think of how many people's hands have been on them!

I just forget. I have severe depression and my memory and concentration is terrible.

"Anyone know the first name of the toddler sitting in the cot in the new pampers ad my 5 year old son is besotted and wants a baby sister no chance but it would be nice to know her name thanks"

Huh???

Wow so many replies! This has definitely put me off bagged salad, always just eat it straight from bag 🤢

wills

Wtf are you lost?

OP Have you never seen all the stuff in the press- TV and newspapers- about washing bagged salads? There was a lot on not long ago. They showed how the bags are the perfect environment for bacteria to grow and the water at the bottom of the bag is often full of bacteria that can cause serious tummy bugs- some people were in hospital through it all.

I'd wash it anyway because it's been washed in mild bleach- who want to be eating diluted bleach?

I always rinse / wash anything grown above ground, as it is always sprayed with pesticide etc unless home grown or properly organic - but I don't care about a bit of mud. I also don't use stock from veg grown above ground for the same reason - way too many chemicals are used (which is obvious when you look at the difference between organic / home grown and supermarket produce). Stuff grown below ground is usually peeled, so great for stock.