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

Normally, I’d wash fruit. Sometimes we might go out for an impromptu trip, stop off at the supermarket to pick up some picnic stuff, this might include tomatoes, grapes or strawberries. I don’t worry about washing them.

@Porcupineintherough

Fertiliser for soil though. Before things are planted.
They don’t wait til the fruit is fully grown and then spray slurry all over it 😂😂

The pickers probably don't wash their hands either, and then you've got the rats in warehouses that could piss all over it and then the people that touch it all and cough and sneeze all over it when it's on the shop floor.

I'm slovenly, but the thought of eaten unwashed produce turns my stomach.

I do try to buy things loose though wherever possible, so I wonder if that makes a difference. Although I still wash stuff in packs too.

@3Britnee

The pickers probably don't wash their hands either, and then you've got the rats in warehouses that could piss all over it and then the people that touch it all and cough and sneeze all over it when it's on the shop floor.

I'm slovenly, but the thought of eaten unwashed produce turns my stomach.

I do try to buy things loose though wherever possible, so I wonder if that makes a difference. Although I still wash stuff in packs too.

When you say you wash it though, what does that process look like. How can you clean a strawberry in any way that will make a difference? You're hardly going to wash it in soap and water for 20 mins like your hands.

20 secs!

@Macncheeseballs it is possible that some of the strawberries carry traces of cow manure, yes. Whether that's a problem or not I couldn't say. Officially the idea with pick your own is that you pick, then they weigh your haul and charge you by weight. You are not supposed to eat as you go although of course everybody does.

You should always wash fruit and veg before eating them. Shop-bought has traces of pesticide and whatever else, not to mention all the people who have touched it on its journey, plus maybe dust etc. Freshly-picked strawberries probably have bugs on them (as well as dust/dirt etc.).

That said, she won't die (and will be extremely unlikely to get ill) from eating unwashed strawberries as a one-off, plus the way she said it was rude and condescending.

@cooldryplace When I get back from shopping I fill a sink with water and put a bit of milton or vinegar in. Then put all the fruit and veg in and let it soak a bit. Then handwash the softer stuff, rinse and lay out to air dry. Then I scrub the harder stuff with a vegetable brush, rinse it and leave to air dry. Then put it all away in the fridge. I do it this way now so I can just take stuff from the fridge without washing each time. It doesn't take long and berries and things last longer if soaked/rinsed in vinegar.

what does that process look like. How can you clean a strawberry in any way that will make a difference?

Soaking in Milton was mentioned 🤢

I don't wash things like bananas or oranges though, obviously. Although I don't actually eat much fruit.

I only wash them when at home, when we have bought some and have tucked in we haven´t, never been ill in my life, and I´m 47...

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.

But should you test it for bacteria an hour later I doubt you'd find much difference. It's not what's visible that's even the problem. I love this place - people bleach strawberries? It's actually a different world 😆

Anyone who is wondering at the massive increase in allergies in the last decade, would not be surprised by the range of responses on this thread.

Anyone who thinks it 'risky' to eat strawberries which have not been bleached would do well to read up on the role of the human immune system.

@3Britnee

I don't wash things like bananas or oranges though, obviously. Although I don't actually eat much fruit.

I wouldn't either if it meant eating bleach

🤷‍♀️ eat shit then.

Milton is perfectly fine to ingest, and vinegar is a foodstuff.

I'm not telling everyone they must do what I do I'll just think they are dirty bastards for not doing so😂

I'll just think they are dirty bastards for not doing so

And we'll think you're a hysterical neurotic.

All good

Not sure I'd fancy bleach or vinegar flavoured strawberries even if it is totally safe. Surely when you're the only one that actually does this vs all those that don't you must realise that it's maybe a bit over the top?!

@rantymcrantface66

Not sure I'd fancy bleach or vinegar flavoured strawberries even if it is totally safe. Surely when you're the only one that actually does this vs all those that don't you must realise that it's maybe a bit over the top?!

Big difference between bleach and vinegar.

I use vinegar you can't taste it

All the talk of vinegar has reminded me of my nan, who used to love a fruit salad covered in salt and vinegar.

My used to ask her if she’d like brown sauce on top too.

My Dad

@Arsebucket

All the talk of vinegar has reminded me of my nan, who used to love a fruit salad covered in salt and vinegar.

My used to ask her if she’d like brown sauce on top too.

She was ahead of her time. Strawberries with balsamic vinegar are delicious

@3Britnee

😂 I do have cloth ones.

But I meant I'm not one of these anal MN'ers that has to boilwash everything after every glance. My house isn't pristine or spotless. My cleaning can be lax. I'm not obsessive about cleaning. I eat stuff past its date using my common sense.

But I'm not going to eat things other people have touched or coughed over without washing it. You wouldn't eat food brought out with the waiters thumbs all over it, so its the same principle but worse because produce could have shit on it

Do you wash all food or just fruit? Surely if you bought a cake, or a bar of chocolate/biscuits or a bag of flour someone in the supply chain has probably touched or coughed on the food at some point. I don’t see how someone handling biscuits and putting them in a packet is any different to fruit (apart from the mud/dirt/manure). You’re just as likely to be eating something someone has touched/coughed on so should we bleach/scrub with vinegar biscuits too. Or just hope that our immune system can deal with eating non sterilised food like it has been for hundreds of thousands of years. Personally I don’t care if my food is covered in bacteria/traces of fertiliser/manure/factory workers germs as long as it tastes good/doesn’t have large amounts of visible dirt and doesn’t make me ill. I’ve never had food poisoning and I’ve never washed anything (I’m even too lazy to wash mushrooms and chuck them in the pan with chunks of mud/manure on them. And I don’t understand how people get grossed out by eating a fly but will happily eat a chicken embryo or a cow-all are dead animals). If the idea of germs/nasties on your food grosses you out then by all means wash things if it makes you feel better, but I think people should understand that we ingest bacteria/traces of poo etc all the time and our immune systems can deal with it-stomach acid will kill more than any washing will. It’s not really possible to wash pathogens off food without ruining it so maybe better to just not think about it and enjoy the delicious food. Ironically I had this username before I saw this thread.

I don't eat biscuits. I'm diabetic. Since January I've tried to only eat homemade whole food where possible and cut out processed stuff. For health & weight reasons, not germs.

But in factories, they wear gloves and masks and a lot is done by machines. When I talk about people touching it, I mostly mean the great unwashed in the supermarket (as well as the pickers). Many people don't wash their hands and a lot let their dirty snotty kids touch everything too.

If I buy a few peaches, and loads of people could have picked them up and squeezed them first, put it near their face to sniff it, of course I'm going to wash that before I eat it. Jesus christ 😂

I usually wash my fruit and veg under running water but when I was pregnant, I did the vinegar and water wash because I was told there are links between pesticides in food and miscarriage. You can google and you'll find studies about it.