Washing vegetables AIBU to ask what's normal

[Annabella92]

So I remember a few years back there was an ecoli scare and for a couple of hours the theory was it was from Spanish cucumbers, so we were reminded then we should be washing our fruit and veg. In the wholefoods shop you can buy special rinses to rinse off pesticides from your produce. My Dad always said that these are designed to withstand rain and watering do the idea that a quick rinse will do anything is ridiculous. I've also heard many tales of fruitpickers scratching their bums and noses and handling our unwashed goods.

So obviously I think about this a fair bit!!! What is normal? What do you do? When I'm cooking for my family I tend to be a very thorough fruit and veg washer. But if I'm making a quick sandwich I'll not rinse the Iceberg, I might give the tomato a quick rub on my sleeve and I'll eat blueberries out the punnet while I'm driving.

What do you do? Which do you worry about more, bacteria or pesticides or none?

I'm not really thinking about it an awful lot. Quite happy to eat fruits from a supermarket shelf and don't care who touched it. I have never been ill from eating unwashed anything and long may it continue.
I buy ready washed salad because I don't like eating it wet and my mum nicked my salad spinner. Anything destined for hot processing gets a quick rinse.

The idea that anyone would eat produce they haven’t washed is utterly bizarre to me. But, I’m not British. As a nation, your attitude towards general hygiene is…interesting.

I always wash fruit and vegetables. I can't imagine not doing it.

Where are you from?

@SWLondonLurker

Gosh, what a nasty thing to say. What do you get out of it?

Never washed a vegetable unless it's quite clearly covered in dirt (leeks are often a culprit, or anything I've taken straight from the garden).

I rarely wash fruit and veg. I'd wash a carrot if I was eating it raw and unpeeled, but I don't think I'd wash anything else. DH 'washes' apples before he eats them, but that just means he rinses them under the tap - I can't see that that is making any difference to anything.

Most veg is peeled, so there's no point in washing it (I rinse things like leeks, after I've sliced them, to get rid of mud and grit), but I have never washed fruit (inc tomatoes).

I have been walking this planet for over 50 years, doing my own food shopping and cooking for 30+ of those, and can probably count on my fingers the number of illnesses of any kind I have had in that time - it's been years since I've had a cold, have never had a D&V bug of any kind, no stomach upsets - nothing. (I had covid once, and had salmonella 25 years ago from a KFC!)

I don't believe that you can 'catch' anything from unwashed fruit and veg.

Always wash, even stuff I’ve picked from my own garden. Especially things from shops etc.

No you can’t get every bit of pesticide off, but you can reduce the risk of pathogens from insects landing on them and farm workers having to pee in the open air with no where to wash their hands. I’ll take several seconds to reduce the risk of diseases thanks

and I peel everything that can sensibly be peeled for that reason: carrots etc.

Never washed any fruit or veg. Horrifies my mum. I remain unmoved by her horror (and that of PPs).

Nor do I wash new clothes or bedding before first use.

I rinse everything. It probably doesn’t remove ‘butt germs’ and knowing how many people don’t wash their hands after using the loo (in our ‘posh’ gym), I doubt fruit pickers would bother either.
But anything more than a rinse raises a lot more questions: I won’t buy more chemicals than I already have, what am I meant to use? Washing up liquid? Soap?

In what way is it nasty? It’s factual. Are you reading the responses on this thread?

I rinse, but I doubt it kills germs.
People who "wash", how do you wash them?

Completely agree. Not a nasty comment at all.

And OP I worry about pesticides more but equally don’t want to eat things that have been fingered.

I didn't think it was nasty either and I'm someone who falls firmly into the camp of what that poster considers bizarre.🤷‍♀️

I only wash stuff with obvious dirt on it, eg leeks.

I do pour boiling water over citrus and scrub if I'm using the rind.

I rinse and scrub all fruit and veg. If I have time or it's tricky like brocolli, I give it a good soak with baking powder to rid the chemicals.

https://foodrevolution.org/blog/how-to-wash-vegetables-fruits/

but recently I've been thinking it's a distraction from all the UPFs we're eating DIRECTLY in BULK

It's not nasty but a little blunt...since you like a national stereotype, are you German?

Anyway, I never wash fruit or veg unless it has obvious mud on it.

Never wash fruit or veg unless it’s very dirty and I’m not peeling it. I’ve never got ill from it and especially for vegetables I’m usually cooking them which would kill most germs!

This made me laugh. 🤣

No, but I’m from a country that is generally (and not unfairly) considered extremely blunt. You’re not far off.

Never even think about washing them to be honest. I'm 41 and in reasonable health (I have an auto immune condition which as far as I know has no links to unwashed fruit and veg).
I grew up in the countryside though, picking blackberries straight off the bush to eat and drinking water out of the same stream as the cows and horses....there is clearly no hope for me!

She's dutch guys 😂

I am a bit shocked that on one hand someone is considering buying something to remove pesticides from products they're going to cook (and therefore kill bacteria) and yet not wash things that they aren't going to cook. I always wash the stuff that isn't getting cooked and am less worried about the stuff that's going to be brought to a high temperature so it gets a quick rinse to remove any obvious physical contamination like animal hair, soil, etc and that's it!

Ah I'm not British either, maybe that's it.

I always wash fruit and veg. It’s basic hygiene. I don’t think it necessarily removes much in the way of pesticides but it does remove any grit or grime hidden in the leaves, washes away faecal bacteria from people who’ve handled it and flushes out any insects or larvae.

I think it’s something we’ve lost as food has become more processed. My grandmother always washed veg and often soaked it in a pan of water with a little salt to get rid of bugs. Now our veg comes pre trimmed in sealed plastic packaging and we use more pesticides. It looks clean - you rarely see mud on veg unless you buy from a farm shop. I still wash it.

My ex’s entire family don’t wash grapes and you can tell from a single bite. Washing must be removing something!