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?

washing up bowls of soapy water where nothing is ever rinsed

Yes, that’s another cultural habit that I don’t really understand. But saying that is apparently a declaration of war. 🤣

Nope

I don't scrub anything other than muddy veg but will rinse everything I'm not peeling the skin from. I don't buy organic so no doubt am eating all sorts of pesticides but giving everything a little rinse and leaving it to dry barely takes any time and will get the chlorine off salad leaves etc.

There are all sorts of step between field and plate and I'm sure not all of them are stellar on their hygiene.

I wash everything that isn't peeled for pesticide/fungicide residues other people handling them and also for dirt, mostly things don't look dirty. I'm less concerned about veg and fruit out of the garden, we don't use a lot of chemicals, but they usually still get a rinse. Veg from the garden does get attacked by insects etc, so a soak in salt water if necessary to remove them.

I always rinse dishes.

You can definitely catch illnesses from unwashed food. For example ecoli outbreaks happen from veg. You are also washing off residual germs that may come from human intervention in the production process. These are just some examples.
If you personally never wash your fruit/veg then it's possible you've built up a resistance to certain germs but it definitely bare minimum should be washed in water.

Erm, thought it was obvious its wasn’t via the birth canal. Some women pass stool while they’re delivering their babies vaginally. That’s how……

I imagine the majority of vegetable 'washing' that goes on is nothing more than a perfunctory rinse under the tap, which is unlikely to do a great deal!

@ Zebra.....
So why would they be wiping them off the babies head?

Yeah I agree, probably not enough although I am sceptical of the products sold to clean them also - surely they just add more chemicals? I would imagine it's like washing your hands, we all know that you should be singing happy birthday X2 but do we do it perfectly every time?

In the past, we would get the majority of our Vit B12 via soil consumed with vegetables (and through infrequent meat). Now we have to get it through animal products - but they are also raised in such sterile (indoor) environments that their feed is usually supplemented with B12. It feels like the opposite of progress.

I get organic fruit and veg and grass-fed meat (for family) and only wash f&v if visibly dirty. No allergies, no food intolerances, no illnesses. If by chance I get non-organic fruit like strawberries I DO wash as herbicide/pesticide remnants are much more of a problem than bacteria. The hygiene hypothesis is real, whatever a sniffy Dutch person may think. And fyi - Dutch meat/dairy was historically full of antibiotics (aka growth promoters) which is why they are tall.

Someone asked about leaks - slice the root section off and the tops of any scraggy leaves you don't want to eat, the slice the leek halfway through lengthwise and run under running water, fanning it out to remove the grit.

As do I. It would appear that a surprising (to me) number of people think that’s an unnecessary step. And will, no doubt, shortly be along to say they’re 65, have never rinsed a dish in their life and have never got sick, so it’s clearly pointless.

I wash salad leaves and dry them in a salad spinner, or a clean tea towel. I rinse cut leeks to remove grit and I scrub (or peel) hard root veg to remove mud; generally soak cauliflowers in salted water in case of slugs. Rarely do more and never wash soft fruit.

I don't wash druit & veg unless noticably muddy or gritty
I don't rinse dishes after washing them in soapy water
I don't wash newly purchased bedsheets
I don't wash newly purchased underwear before wearing it

And I'm not even British😅

Superiority! I've been in parts of the world I would want fruit nuking before eating it but I'm not allowed to say where!

The worms that your sister observed are likely to have been thread worms, which are usually transmitted by ingesting their microscopic eggs. Typically, these women will have caught the worms from their older children (thread worms are very common in children, including - gasp -non-British children). It might not be a pleasant thought, but they're harmless and many people, maybe even you, have them without realising.

You can also obtain worms from unwashed fruit and veg, but this is unusual in Britain. This route of transmission is more common in countries without modern toilets and sewage treatment facilities.

I've just put a cabbage on a 90 degree wash because of this thread.

Glad you agree with me.

There you go again "cultural habit" now.

Why do you assume you know what everyone does or doesn't do with regard to vegetables, washing up, etc.?

Do you show the same xenophobia towards other nationalities?

Tbf, the Dutch are known to be very xenophobic/racist. 😉

And there it is. 🤣

‘Cultural habit’ and ‘attitude as a nation’ somehow equal ‘every single person in the country does this’. You and @MerryChristmasYaFilthyBrusselSprout ought to get together and form a club. You’ll have a great time not grasping basic statements. It’ll be a real hoot.

Xenophobia. 🤣🤣🤣

Always wash fruit and vegetables. It's part of the process of putting them away when bought.

Will often wash again before use. Though this will be a rinse rather than a wash.

Learned that particular part of food hygiene when I got my food hygiene certificate as part of my part time job for Uni umpteen years ago.

As I'm unloading the shopping I have a basin ready to go.

It's quite surprising the amount of gritty stuff left in the basin when done and the water has oil rings in it (I presume from the wax used on some fruits).

I even wash carrots before peeling. We buy the bagged carrots from Lidl and I find they sweat so need washed and dried before putting away.

I think potatoes aren't washed before putting away but I was brought up peeling potatoes in a bowl of cold water so they get washed then. Or scrubbed first if for baked potatoes.

Onions! Never wash onions but I do take layers off when prepping them. Same with garlic. Never wash garlic.

I needed this laugh

😂

I do wonder if some of it is a hangover from the Pandemic.

I did draw the line at hot soapy washing cans and bottles though kept most of it outside for a good 24hrs before unpacking