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?

I got food poisoning from spinach once. It was meant to be pre washed but I could taste the grit as I was eating it

You should definitely wash salad veggies - there's been ecoli outbreaks from cucumbers.

I rinse and shake berries to get rid of potential bugs - there's often small creatures in raspberries 😷

I wash off any obvious dirt and peel carrots and other root veg.

When I was in Vietnam (I think), I drove past a fruit plantation and a man was pissing on the crops. I guess all the farm workers do the same (and worse) as there weren't any toilets around. Yum 😷😷

Yes, wash it unless peeling. Either dirt or because of fungicides, and particularly careful with organic as thats whats most likely to have caterpillars or bugs on it. It doesn't take long, why wouldn't you?

Chicken - once in california passing a strawberry field the person I was with pointed out the portaloos, there had apparently been a recently problem with the pickers peeing in the fields so not just a third world issue.

I very rarely wash any fruit and vegetable, never have. DDad was a greengrocer so much of the fruit and veg I ate as a kid came straight out of the box/bag/shelf/wholesaler's warehouse and into me. An apple may have a cursory rub but that's about it. Even now I'll bite the end off an unpeeled carrot and gnaw away (and then get hiccups)

I do rinse potatoes but only to remove starch so they don't foam everywhere when boiling. I rinse leeks to remove sand from between the layers.

I've had salmonella. I got it from chocolate.

If your veg has been grown with pesticides, them the chemicals will be all through the veg - they'll infuse it, they won't just be sitting on the surface. By all means wash them if you're concerned about soil germs/people's mucky hands in supermarkets. But please don't kid yourself you're getting rid of pesticide chemicals by washing stuff!

Never if I'm cooking with it but salad/ fruit I'm going to eat raw then I do rinse and wipe.

I am shocked at the amount of people who don't wash their fruit/veg.
Apart from pesticides and bugs, you don't know where the food has been. It could've been on the supermarket floor, touched my a number of people who may have been sick/not washed their hands etc etc etc!!
And do you give this unwashed food to your children/guests too??

Won't somebody please think of the children!!!

Anyway, as my ten month old tries to lick the apparatus in the soft play which has been licked, sneezed on and goodness knows what else by hundreds of other kids I'll let an unwashed apple pass.

Other things he licks: the bottoms of shoes and his buggy wheels.

And do you give this unwashed food to your children/guests too??

The horror! it's any wonder the human race has even got to this point.

Yes. Especially organic.

There has been some terrible outbreaks of the runs due to the fertilizer used on organic veg. I local deli had to close down and scrub after they made pesto from organic basil (which had been rinsed just not enough), which contained organic fertilizer, ie excrement.

But in general I just kid myself that I can rinse of pesticide, or whatever germ was on the fruitpickers hands.....

No. Never wash anything.

I'm just boggling at the suggestion that "organic veg and fruit ... shouldn't be covered in too much crap" when that's literally what it will be fertilized with.

I'm not a scrupulous washer, don't bother with things I'm going to peel or boil, but things like apples and peppers and celery get a quick bath and dried with a clean teatowel.

Organic fruit and vet needs to be cleaned as much as others; the fertiliser can contain tapeworm eggs as well as food poisoning; and soil contains botulism among other pathogens.

I have heard from nutritionists that fruit and veg can cause cancer if it's not washed and I don't think it's worth the risk, always make sure you rinse it well, even if it's organic.

Oh well if nutritionists say it, who cares what actual scientists say

Ffs cancer research has stated there is no risk!!

Growing up in the 70s the only things that got washed really were potatoes and leeks. Back then you'd find the odd slug in your lettuce and flies on your cauliflower...so obviously not as much pesticides were used.
Nowadays in the food industry (I run a food business) there have to be steps in place to avoid cross contamination from raw veg, especially to ready to eat foods, like sandwiches/cakes etc........namely because of ecoli. So basically we have to use the same procedures for unwashed veg as we do for raw meat/fish.
Guidelines for washing veg is to rinse it under running water so the shite dirt is washed off it.

Erm......listeria? Did none of you get the memo about washing fruit and veg (especially when pregnant)?

I did wash it when preggers

Risk of listeria is extremely low and not mitigated by rinsing in cold water

So unless all of you put your fruit and veg through the dishwasher...

I don't usually bother with veg unless it's obviously muddy but I do try to wash fruit (if I can get there before the kids), ever since I since I saw a woman in a supermarket sneeze all over the loose fruit.

The weird thing was that you could see the sneeze coming (it was one of those "Ah... aah... aaaaah... CHOO!" ones), but she clearly didn't want to sneeze on her own shopping trolley so she looked frantically around to see where she could safely sneeze and, of all places, deliberately chose to sneeze all over the fruit. Nice. Thanks for that.

never have, unless it looks like it needs a rinse/wash haven't ever got ill from not washing it either, I do however give lettuce leaves a quick rise because those tin little black bugs can sometimes be hiding in there.

Mostly I do out of habit, but not so bothered if it's to be cooked as I figure the cooking will kill anything nasty!

Only buy organic veg and fruit also so figure it shouldn't be covered in too much crap

Heh heh. Crap is exactly what your organic veggies will be covered in!

I am shocked at the amount of people who don't wash their fruit/veg.
Apart from pesticides and bugs, you don't know where the food has been. It could've been on the supermarket floor, touched my a number of people who may have been sick/not washed their hands etc etc etc!!
And do you give this unwashed food to your children/guests too??

LOL. Oh, the horror!

I've never washed anything (unless I can see dirt) and don't intend starting now.

I have heard from nutritionists that fruit and veg can cause cancer if it's not washed
Which nutritionists? Any studies? I would be interested in this