To have fed her DC unwashed strawberries?

[brilliantdances]

Neighbour will probably see this. Not sure I care. Perhaps she will see how silly she is!

She was desperate for someone to have her DD and I said I would, no worries, all fine.

Her DD shared a box of strawberries with DS today and long story short, she's picked her DC and her DC has told her this.

I have received a text saying ''Hi, thanks again for having Kate. Please can I ask though, next time wash the strawberries before giving them to her? They are dangerous if not washed properly and she could become so unwell. Would you really want that?''

I haven't replied and won't be. AIBU to have not washed them?! Would if I was at home but it was actually just a quick snack shared out

She should have just been grateful that you looked after her child and left it. I'd find it really quite rude to be called out on something like that, when fundamentally it's not going to do her daughter any harm, it just seems nitpicky. And the sense of entitlement behind that "next time"! If I were you there wouldn't be a next time, it's not like you're her nanny! knows what she's complain about wrong next time! Yes I get the argument about washing fruit, I mostly do it, but a few strawberries really aren't going to have enough chemicals on them to actually cause harm, it's not like she's eating unwashed fruit all day long.

@FreekStar2

I never understand how people think rinsing things in cold water will remove whatever might be on them.

OK Einstein, try this experiment. Take two strawberries and dip them in dirt. Rinse one in cold water and don't rinse the other. Which has the more dirt on it? Well, guess what? It's the same for contaminants that you can't see, like bacteria and pesticides.

Rinsing won't necessarily remove all contaminants, but it will remove some of them, and so reduce your chances of getting sick. All food poisoning is dose-related: the more you eat of the pathogen, the more likely you are to get ill.

Ask her what she wants you to wash off the strawberries?
I wash all the chemicals that I've been told are on them to keep them preserved longer.
Logically I can't imagine a chemical washing away with a splatter of water.
If they were blackberries that I had picked myself and were a bit grubby I wouldn't think to wash them.

@2018SoFarSoGreat

Those talking about a spritz of water, I probably agree that has less value, but we use a special wash solution, see attached.

Amazon UK sells at least two versions, so not unheard of. Dh uses as the instructions say, in all our berries. then lays them out on paper towel or clean cloth to dry, then they go in a special plastic fridge keeper for fruit. Ours last all week, unless we eat them too fast. We love our berries here.

You do as you see fit, but better safe than sorry.

That says you're supposed to scrub. You can't scrub a strawberry. Presumably the oil loosens any wax- spritzing and leaving surely can't achieve anything? It's oil.

I've never washed strawberries in my 46 years.

I've never once washed strawberries.

Like many others above I've eaten them this way for over 60 years with no problems

The thing is, the soil is changing, herbicides and pesticides are changing, growing methods are usually far more industrialised than they've ever been and different to even a few years ago.

The climate and the environment are changing, and growing methods are having to change as well. Insect life cycles are different. It alls impacts on the quality of produce we eat.

People ask very few questions about food generally: that's in part because we have had generally high food standards here, but it's really not something be complacent about, and things are changing.

I wouldn't rip open supermarket strawberries and just eat them. From my own garden? Yep, no problem.

Yes quite @WaltzingBetty. Rinse in water by all means. But I'm not convinced coating my veg in a layer of dilute oil will clean them. And that is precisely the kind of unnecessary product invented in the US (and I say that as a Trader Joe aficionado).

I do wash things that have been in soil. Raspberries and strawberries haven't.

Logically I can't imagine a chemical washing away with a splatter of water

Yeah, there's no way you can remove a chemical with H20 😏

It’s not a big deal as a one off but I’d usually wash them for the few seconds it takes. I’m sure strawberries are amongst the fruits that retain the highest levels of pesticides. I’m sure I read that.

But in answer to the OP, I would not look after Kate again. Kate's mother can do her own childcare in future b

Maybe suggest the qualified childcare she uses in future won't be so slovenly!!

A sort of related question - when someone gets food poisoning how do they know it’s from unwashed fruit or something? Obviously if there’s a large number of cases from a restaurant or something it can be traced, but I mean individuals. How do you know?

Genuine question, not being snarky

Back in the olden days though, people died from eating unwashed strawberries, back in the day when they used manure, or sometimes raw sewage as a fertilizer. They're much safer these days. The pesticides now kill off everything remotely living. Her daughter might emit a strange glow tonight, but reassure your neighbour that it will probably fade over the course of a few days!

@ILoveAllRainbowsx

Of course you should wash all fruit before you eat it.

Why? Genuine question? What do you think you're washing off with water?

back in the day when they used manure, or sometimes raw sewage as a fertilizer

Well-rotted, composted manure is generally considered safe, barring any unusual features.

Sewage isn't consigned to the past:

www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/sep/02/sewage-sludge-containing-human-waste-uk

As an aside, I can't believe that people wash their undies and t towels together! Under 40 degrees wash and the bacteria just festers all the more. It's really rather revolting if you Google the studies behind it.

@PegLegAntoine

A sort of related question - when someone gets food poisoning how do they know it’s from unwashed fruit or something? Obviously if there’s a large number of cases from a restaurant or something it can be traced, but I mean individuals. How do you know?

Genuine question, not being snarky

If it's an isolated case, they usually don't know for sure. But you can get clues from the type of pathogen (germ) causing the infection. Some types are commoner from vegetables (washed salad - as mentioned by a PP - is the work of the devil), for example, and others from meat.

@PegLegAntoine

A sort of related question - when someone gets food poisoning how do they know it’s from unwashed fruit or something? Obviously if there’s a large number of cases from a restaurant or something it can be traced, but I mean individuals. How do you know?

Genuine question, not being snarky

Last year I had two friends (unknown to each other) in hospital. It turned out that they had E.Coli and they had swabs analysed to try and identify the source of it, is this standard practice?

I don't wash any fruit or veg. She's pathetic.

@Hugoslavia

As an aside, I can't believe that people wash their undies and t towels together! Under 40 degrees wash and the bacteria just festers all the more. It's really rather revolting if you Google the studies behind it.

Assuming that's true, Maybe they're not washing under 40C.

Any given you use your towel to dry your bits, it's the same bacteria

Last year I had two friends (unknown to each other) in hospital. It turned out that they had E.Coli and they had swabs analysed to try and identify the source of it, is this standard practice?

It's normal to try to grow the germ in the lab, usually from a stool sample. But finding E Coli won't tell you much, because it's so common.

Higher tech labs can do more sophisticated DNA/RNA typing of germs, which can often identify the exact source, but this is expensive and not routine.

I wash them, but only because I’ve had a weird allergic reaction in the past which I can only assume is something they were sprayed with as it’s not all fresh strawberries. If it weren’t for that I’d probably not bother.

Tell her they were organic and then never offer to look after her child again since invariably you’ll do something wrong. I’m in a grumpy mood though so my tolerance level for unreasonable people is low tonight!