to insist that fruit is washed before the children eat it?

[latchmeregirl]

To quote my DH: "Why are you doing that? I've never washed a piece of fruit in my laugh and my mother hasn't either". Leaving aside the issue of his mother's whole approach to food hygiene and nutrition, surely fruit should be washed before it's eaten. Or am I neurotic?

Oh
My
God

Will henceforth decide to wash all fruit.

I wont actually wash it, you understand am slattenr.

you can get hep A from sewage, so I suppose if they crops were irrigated or washed using dirty water or if the pickers were defecating in the fields it would be possible.

F&Z - It gets there from the bodily fluids of people who are picking it - in some countries (as I have described). There are other ways that germs can get into soil - after all - soil isn't really the cleanest thing is it? When you think about it, what are organic (and non-organic) fertilisers/compost made of?

(I think it's quite unlikely though btw - more of a risk if you are eating fruit in undeveloped countries)

I always wash bought fruit & veg. The only time I don't wash fruit is when I'm scrumping in the garden - and then it's only what's high up. The dogs & foxes can reach everything else...

I don't really know what hepatitis is, properly

so it is passed from human to human, via the produce?

i still won't be worrying for more than abut an hour after i read this

There are several kinds of hepatitis - hep A is more common and can be caught from unwashed fruit and veg as described, and also from people not washing hands.

Hep B is from exchange og bodily fluids from and infected person

There are other sorts such as Hep c that can be caught from infected blood.

B and C can be fatal.

A is very nasty, but not fatal.

Sorry - should have explained that hepatitis is "inflammation of the liver".

You go yellow and are very sick and ill for a long time.

Also - never pick wild blackberries below dog-leg-level

We're always careful about that. We only pick from the upper half of the bush.

Not to worry anyone too much - Hep A can be nasty but can also be very mild - just slight fatigue.

Also, unlike other forms of Hepatitis, it doesn't usually become chronic. You get it, feel bad, and throw it off.

(should state I am not a medic but DH is a virologist)

Think I will go back to washing everything after reading this thread....

I wash grapes.stawberries and rasberies but don't usually wash other fruit.

WASH IT - a non organic apple is sprayed up to 19 times with pesticides/fungicides before it is chemically 'waxed' for freshness and sent to the shop...

The thing is unless you wash it with soap? Do you wash it with soap? I don't really see how rinsing them in water is going to get rid of 19 sprays of pesticides etc?

although I do rinse all fruit apart from oranges and bananas.

yes it should - covered in toxic chemicals - especially grapes.

Once they get to being pre-teens/ teenagers, you a) are totally grateful that they still think eating fruit is cool b) know that washing fruit is the least of their hygiene problems c) have bigger things like drugs, sex, and alcohol to worry about. Not trying to belittle your concerns, I shared and still share them, but am more able to put them into context now.

Once they get to being pre-teens/ teenagers, you a) are totally grateful that they still think eating fruit is cool b) know that washing fruit is the least of their hygiene problems c) have bigger things like drugs, sex, and alcohol to worry about. Not trying to belittle your concerns, I shared and still share them, but am more able to put them into context now.

Once they get to being pre-teens/ teenagers, you a) are totally grateful that they still think eating fruit is cool b) know that washing fruit is the least of their hygiene problems c) have bigger things like drugs, sex, and alcohol to worry about. Not trying to belittle your concerns, I shared and still share them, but am more able to put them into context now.

I do try and wash with soapy water ,but am quite inconsistent .
Grapes I definitely wash well though,I don't know why particularly.

wash whether organic or non organic. Non organic have chemical spray residues, organic are more likely to have bacteria etc on them (due to lack of chemcal sprays). Washing with washing liquid for example prob not a good idea as that has nasty stuff in it which leaves a residue.

Official advice for salads etc is to wash in salt solution then rinse thoroughly. Any decent retail food outlet (cafe, restaurant etc) should follow this procedure.

Whatever you do, always wash salads even if they say 'prewashed, ready to eat' on the pack. There was a lovely food poisoning outbreak a few years back when spanish (I think) salads from a supermarket chain had been washed in the wrong water supply after picking - covered in E coli..nice...

Message withdrawn

I wash all fruit and veg with hot water and dish liquid. I agree with the knife carrying ickies into the fruit theory, plus my washing is because I shudder at how many people have touched the fruit/veg before I picked it up in the shop. Ew, ew, ew. Pesticides, nasty things on hands....it's all ew to me.

When I eat out I firmly stuff those concerns into a little box and lock it up tight so I can enjoy my meal!