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

One of the few advantages of getting old, well 60's so not old but still, is that I can honestly say I've eaten unwashed strawberries for nearly sixty years with no ill effects.

The people who insist on washing everything "to avoid risk" misunderstand the role of the immune system. It's job is to fight off anything ingested that could do us harm.

The immune system needs to have things to fight off in order to get stronger. If you wash everything, you are not giving your immune system the opportunity to grow stronger.

p.s. I'd not reply to the message and would not be able to oblige, if I were ever asked again.

@Mummadeze

Sorry, but I agree you should wash them before eating. She doesn’t sound like she told you in a rude way. It is obviously important to her, even if it isn’t to you.

They are dangerous if not washed properly and she could become so unwell. Would you really want that?'

Is not rude?

I'd wait a while to reply, just to try and moderate my tone, but my ultimate response would be along the lines of, I guess we all make different decisions regarding our children, the only way to make sure things are always done your way is to look after them yourself.

An easy way to do it is to make a sink of water and milton or vinegar when you come back with your shopping. Remove all fruit and veg from any packaging and put in the sink. Zoosh it a bit and give each thing a rub with your hands. Do it in batches if you have to. Leave it to soak a bit and then remove the softer things and leave out to dry. Wash the harder things with a vegetable brush. Leave those out to air dry too. Then when it's all dry put it away in the fridge. That's what I've started doing, it saves having to wash things every time from the fridge and things last longer.

How do you wash a strawberry anyway?

If I'm at home, I do rinse them under the tap, mostly to get rid of dust, but I'm not under any illusions that a rinse under the tap is going to remove ecoli or pesticides.

She’s rude. I’ve never washed a strawberry or any fruit. My kids are alive and kicking. Ni would never offer to have her child again.

I guess we all make different decisions regarding our children, the only way to make sure things are always done your way is to look after them yourself.

Yup 😉

If I'm at home, I do rinse them under the tap, mostly to get rid of dust, but I'm not under any illusions that a rinse under the tap is going to remove ecoli or pesticides.

Exactly

Hell would freeze over before I put Milton anywhere near my food. My goodness, what is this utter madness??

I'll rinse mine if I'm at home, but I couldn't get upset about unwashed strawberries when out of the house.

I think the risk of getting really ill from soft fruit is probably one of the lesser 'risks' in life, even to a toddler. Yes, you could get ill with Ecoli or Hepatitis but that's incredibly rare. I do think she's rude to call you out after the event. If she'd asked you to wash fruit before you looked after her DC then fair enough for her to get annoyed if you'd knowingly ignored her request. However, if it's one of her 'rules' then she had a duty to pass on that requirement of care to you (which she clearly didn't).

I personally wouldn't be minded to look after her DC again though!

God yeah, Milton soaked fruit sounds absolutely ridiculous 🤢

I wouldn't wash fruit in Milton either (cba) but that's effectively what's happened to most prepared fruit and salad you buy.

Life is too short to wash strawberries. I wash visible dirt off things but that’s it.
Rinsing water over anything isn’t going to make much difference to germs or dirt and I’m not about to
start spraying antibac on food.

Kates mum is a dick. I applaud your self-restraint at not replying to her rude text OP. I don't wash soft fruit and I also don't buy into that Dettol laundry cleanser bollocks either, people have been washing their clothes for decades without it and have managed to survive, so I'm not sure why we need it now. Excellent marketing by dettol cashing in on people's anxieties mind you!

As an aside, my best friend once had a child round for a play date and tea with her dd, child requested my friend PEEL her strawberries for her as she didn't like the pips!

I've never washed a strawberry, but I'm very lax with fruit/veg washing. I will say that my husband is a veg washer and also doesn't wash strawberries. If illness from unwashed strawberries was common then I would expect to have heard about it before now.

I always wash mine out of habit (I wash all fruit that doesn't require peeling) and it might be in my head but they taste better when washed . My DH never washes his however and he's never been ill from it!

@PrincessNutella

If they came from my garden, I would not hesitate, if they come from the supermarket, they are filthy.

Do foxes and cats and birds not shit and wee in your neck of the woods??

Fruit pickers wee
FFS man
Source to back that up? Otherwise gonna file under loads of codswallop lol
(Happy to be corrected if wrong though)

Do you wash your plates? Or just enjoy whatever was stuck on them from the last meal?

@Quaggars

Fruit pickers wee FFS man Source to back that up? Otherwise gonna file under loads of codswallop lol (Happy to be corrected if wrong though)

Family who picked fruit in the 80's claim they would wee on their pickings to make them heavier- paid by weight

Do you wash your plates? Or just enjoy whatever was stuck on them from the last meal?

So you rinse your plates quickly in water and expect them to be lean enough to eat off?

@Quaggars

Fruit pickers wee FFS man Source to back that up? Otherwise gonna file under loads of codswallop lol (Happy to be corrected if wrong though)

Regardless of that, from field to supermarket shelf, I'm sure the fruit comes into contact with plenty of dirt, dust, bacteria and god knows what. It's presumably in lorries, warehouses etc. Washing may not remove everything but it will do a hell of a lot more than not washing will do

I usually eat them on the drive home from the shop. I do check for slugs though (don't ask)

Never has a text cried out for the ODFOD response more

Ranty--I have indeed tried running water as part of cleaning many things, and slattern though I may be, I have never failed to observe that plates are less crusty after the application of running water than they are before it. I don't know about you, but when I want to eat strawberries, I want more strawberry, less pesticide/bacteria/dirt. And when I feed children, who are much smaller, I want them to have even better nutrition. Even though farmers try to keep up relatively high standards in the UK, they have to do factory farming just to survive. It's not the good old days.