To think a lot of people dont actually wash fruit?

[TartanDr3ams]

Or are me and 90% of my colleagues gross?

Got some strawberries, blueberries and grapes on my break earlier and just plonked the punnets on my desk and told my workmates to help themselves.. a few people dive in, a quick thanks and back to work.

One colleague just made the monster of all fusses over the fact that ive not washed all said fruit and put into bowls and i quote "its absolutely barbaric that youre expecting people to eat right from the punnet they came in".

Maybe i should wash the fruit.. or maybe if you want to dig into my fruit you can wash it yourself?

DH won't eat fruit straight from the bush any more since seeing the little maggotty things crawling out of blackberries left in a tray. Washing gets rid of them.

I wash all fruit and veg for fear of pesticides and dirty water. I realise it may be a bit futile but I feel more at ease doing it.if I pick fruit at a family member's where no pesticides are used ; I probably wouldn't

I never wash fruit and I and my family are in the rudest of health thanks very much.
While I appreciate the fact that the produce has been handled by several lurgy-infested individuals before I buy it, I'm alwasys a bit confused how a quick splash under a tap is supposed to get rid of all those germs? Or am I the thickest of the thick? Are you meant to soak it in Dettol for 24 hours before consuming? Genuinely I don't know the answer.

One colleague just made the monster of all fusses over the fact that ive not washed all said fruit and put into bowls and i quote "its absolutely barbaric that youre expecting people to eat right from the punnet they came in". *

She can buy her own bloody fruit then.

I don’t wash my fruit. dm has told me before that I can get food poisoning from not washing it

To be fair, I got horrendous food poisoning from unwashed spinach. The packet said it had been washed but it was gritty...I was so ill. Sorry, I know it's not fruit but just making the point that you can get food poisoning from fruit and veg. I always wash it.

What is a scientarst??

It's someone who thinks they're making scientific statements but are actually talking out of their arse!!

MN is full of us!!

I haven't read all 11 pages of this thread .... I'm posting this because I cannot understand the attitude on here. It's basic common sense - wash all fruit and veg before eating.

OK, you don't mind taking a risk on food poisoning - fine.
But what about Hepatitis A? That's not just a few trips to the loo...

If we've grown it ourselves or it's organic and I know roughly how its been grown, I might not bother. Otherwise, yes, definitely always wash. I've done some work in the US around the FDA guidelines over the last three years and researched fairly closely how and with what produce is grown here and over there.

I'm slightly amazed by how many people don't bother, but their choice!

Well on the one hand you can contract nasty infections like Norovirus from unwashed fruit.

On the other hand you were being generous to your colleagues and she really didn't need to make a fuss about it!

There's a lot of parasites and worms here in South America, so eating unwashed fruit is not a good idea. If the fruit comes from the UK you're looking at less parasites, further afield a the list of potential intestine squatters gets longer. Not to mention all the trucks/lorries, trains, planes and floors your fruit has had the pleasure to know. A rinse in vinegar and water kills most things.
If it's fresh of the tree it's only likely to have a bit of monkey piss and bird poo then I don't bother but supermarket fruit like apples or strawberries I do wash.

Each to their own. If you think no need to wash fruit, fine. I wash both fruit and veg. Majority of fruit and veg has been washed before packing in chlorine solution and few other chemicals, so there is residue on them. Also I peel apples, as they are covered in wax-if you scrape the surface you will be shocked how much wax there is...Yes, you are still alive and have not troubles eating unwashed produce. Problem is, toxins do build up in your body, and after few decades all this toxin storage will get to you...

Also I peel apples, as they are covered in wax

Depends entirely where you are. Where I live they are not sprayed with wax, the only waxy substance you find is the natural wax.

There are also very strict residue regulations here which means that there is very very little residue on fruit and vegetables.