How to clean salad and soft fruit ?

[20mum]

Rinsing in plain water cannot be adequate for killing potential virus on food that won't be cooked.

Has anyone solved what to do?

There is a foodwashing liquid from Ecover. Then, someone elsewhere thought vinegar was able to kill corona. The only other thìng in the house is the stuff for cleaning baby bottles.
There's no official advice, which is odd because food processing seems far from secure, as the source of many covid outbreaks Lots of foods never intended for cooking must be grown, harvested, processed and packaged, all in what could be high risk circumstances.

There have been articles on why meat processing plants are getting outbreaks and it’s because the virus thrives in cold, damp conditions. Also the loud equipment means people tend to shout a lot.

There is no evidence that the virus is transmitted via food in the supply chain. There have been numerous articles on this. PHE have never recommended washing groceries and have always said to wash fruit and vegetables as normal. I do think it makes sense to buy prepackaged stuff so you’re not buying stuff that others have recently directly handled.

I suggest you see a professional about your anxiety because this is not normal.

Saw Whitty I think asked about this and he said no risk.

I out it in an autoclave. Can't be too careful.

Oh bloody hell is this a joke? I know, put the fruit and veg in the washing machine with some dettol detergent, that ought to do it.

Okay but was the chopping board plastic or wood? If it was wood then you can expect a lot of different things on them if not cleaned properly. Also apparently the virus is very easily killed once touched. It's only when you're then proceeding to touch your nose, mouth, eyes and face in general. Unless a lemon decides to sneeze in your face water will be fine for washing it off.

If you’re that worried stick to tinned fruit and veg.

I think rinsing is likely to be effective enough. The food is unlikely to have viable virus on it in the first place so diluting and rinsing away a few theoretical particles is most likely to be sufficient.

That said, I’m still washing most things in soapy water, then rinsing with water. No scrubbing though. I’m really enjoying having pre-washed fruit & veg ready to use without rinsing everything before use later on.

I realise the risk is low (risk management and contamination control are my specialist subjects) but I’m happy reducing it as far as possible.

God I can’t stand much more of this. People have lost their minds, as well as the ability to carry out even the most rudimentary risk assessment about totally mundane everyday activities.

I’ve never washed fruit and veg now and I’m not going to start now, and I’m definitely not quarantining it

If I was this worried I just wouldn’t eat those foods for a while.

I just rinse with water as I always have.

I eat fruit and salad you are assuming everyone is throwing caution to the wind don't buy soft fruit or use tinned and leave things in the fridge for 3days bin packaging and you will be ok.

The CDC in the States covered this: www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/food-and-COVID-19.html - it specifically mentions fresh fruit and veg.

Thank you for the help. It's interesting the range of solutions people have. Wise up Janet you, as a contamination specialist, wash everything in soap and rinse it, so I'll take that as a good plan. My second part question to you is what kind of soap? The call to use special antivirus hand cleaner or else to wash hands extensively made it seem improbable a quick rinse in plain water was just as good, for virus destruction. Maybe the Ecover wash would be the least likely to leave a taste that doesn't rinse off the food easily.

You dont need to destroy it, you just need to rinse it away

I wash everything in a sink full of cold water a milton.

(is this were I say I leave my garden fruit in water with salt & washing up liquid - mostly because I don't like extra protein - I than rinse thoroughly it doesn't alter taste & the soft fruit makes lovely jam)

Janet said contamination control and risk management were her specialist subject, NOT her job. She's probably just a paranoid android if she's washing strawberries in detergent...

I wouldn’t have thought that ingesting a small amount of the virus was a danger anyway (even if it was, somehow, on the food and hadn’t been rinsed off). If you chewed and swallowed a strawberry with Covid on it, you wouldn’t contract the virus. You’d have to somehow get it in your eyes by not washing your hands, or breathe it in somehow or have it go down the wrong way, surely? NB I’m not any sort of virologist! It just seems so vanishingly unlikely (and I’m a very cautious type, but I try to be realistic).

The call to use special antivirus hand cleaner or else to wash hands extensively made it seem improbable a quick rinse in plain water was just as good, for virus destruction

Oh for sure, but your stomach acid will see it off!

I just run it under the tap, could you steam it ?

I wash fruit in just water and use the salad spinner for lettuce, spinach etc (although I grow most of the salad stuff). I use hot water and bleach for all the packaging of other food. I hadn't really thought about that - had loads of strawberries just washed in water 🙈

Jetwashing strawberries!!! You'll never see them again!

Christ, I think I'd be better of dead of almost anything than living my life at this level of paranoia!

In the states they are quite worried about people ingesting detergent from washing veg in soap!

I'm amazed some people don't wash their fruit and veg at all though, think of all the hands that have been on them 🤮