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?

I would wash small fruits , yes.

I'm still boggling at the "wash with soap".

Why? Food is treated with all kinds of chemicals, what's wrong with using soap that you trust to use on your hands?

As I said earlier, I don't wash fruit, period. :) So the soap is like WOAH!

I do wash fruit, particularly soft fruit, before giving it to little Gdcs. . Can't help wondering about the hands of people who've picked it.

For me and Dh I rarely bother.

Why? Food is treated with all kinds of chemicals, what's wrong with using soap that you trust to use on your hands?

Because then your strawberries will taste of soap

Why? Food is treated with all kinds of chemicals, what's wrong with using soap that you trust to use on your hands?

Because then your strawberries will taste of soap?

but how do you know what it is that made you sick?

I don't have memory of the last time i ever had a stomach upset - maybe primary school? 20+ years ago at least. I don't wash any fruit or veg and i eat a lot of fruit every day...!

Don't bother kaleidapop - if you're talking to people who wash fruit with soap you're talking to a lost cause!

Just nod, smile & edge away slowly....

I do...my nan contracted Giardia from unwashed pre bagged salad and ended up in intensive care on a ventilator in a coma for two weeks. We thought she wouldn't pull through.

The NHS recommends you wash it due to E.coli. The FDA does too. I always have and always will.

anyway if you visit any fruit growing countries, you will see how they wash it. with good reason.

I’m in Canada. Most supermarkets here sell bottles of produce wash. I’ve never bought it.

The NHS recommends you wash it due to E.coli. The FDA does too. I always have and always will

Does water remove e.coli?

I only do when the friend who shamed me for not doing it 'because of pesticides' came round. Also when MIL comes round who gave me the same lecture but because of germs. Never otherwise.

Why don't you check the NHS recommendations Slievenamon - I'm sure their website can tell you more than I can.

Many websites recommend you wash it.

I always wash fruit as it can be sprayed with pesticides or covered with germs.

Some really odd attitudes here, as if people who wash fruit and vegetables are germphobic oddballs.

Lots of comments of 'well, I'm still here'. You can say that about anything! Shall I not get a smear or a breast cancer check because 'well, I'm still here!!'

Would you proudly proclaim that you never wash your hands after peeing? No, because everyone would rightly call you a minger. Likewise with not washing fruit and vegetables. Yes, you will unlikely get every single bit of dirt off, but rubbing the skin while washing in water will get a lot off. Using baking soda/vinegar in the water will get more off.

Personally, I find carrots, spinach and lettuce generally disgusting if they haven't been washed - all gritty and nasty, you can taste the dirt.

Lots of comments of 'well, I'm still here'. You can say that about anything! Shall I not get a smear or a breast cancer check because 'well, I'm still here!!

Its not at all the same thing, and its a pretty offensive comparison [hmm

I do it's psychological I think

i thought washing fruit and vegetables was normal tbh

Slievenamon

In what way, exactly, is that offensive?

And how is it not the same? There are plenty of people on this thread who are talking about people who have got sick from not washing fruit.

In my opinion, having such absolute disregard for cleanliness is fool-hardy at best.

In my opinion, having such absolute disregard for cleanliness is fool-hardy at best

In my opinion the belief that cold water will remove germs is delusional & foolhardy.

Do you use disinfectant on your work surfaces or just cold water?

I didn't wash fruit until I worked on a large commercial farm (picking apples, pears and strawberries). We had a grotty portaloo with no hand washing facilities. Definitely wash it now.

Plus the pesticides. We used to all get nosebleeds after spraying (and they spray a lot).

None so bad as cider apples though, boak...

IIIustriouslyIllogical

I never said I relied on 'cold water'. I use baking soda and I rub the skin of the fruit. That will remove most dirt and chemicals.

I use vinegar on my work surfaces, but I also don't go around licking them, generally, so it's hardly comparable.