Those who wash fruit and veg

[Alpa2]

Recently read that some people are washing fruit in an effort to stop transmission.

Does this mean you bleach the food or wash with soap and water or wipe down with a dettol cloth?

This has amazed me... I’d feel worried eating something covered in soap like that?! Surely better to just buy fruit in a packet or leave it a couple of days?

I’ve no idea on transmission rates from hard surfaces like that but surely everyone would have it anyway if you can literally get it from a piece of fruit. My mind has been boggled!

Washing up liquid is safe to use on dishes so it's safe to use on fruit and veg. Use a tiny amount in a bowl, dunk the fruit and let it dry on a tea towel.

Another good one is to soak fruit and veg in water with a bit of bicarb in it, it successfully removes pesticide residues.

Dettol wipe apple

@picklemewalnuts

Washing up liquid is safe to use on dishes so it's safe to use on fruit and veg. Use a tiny amount in a bowl, dunk the fruit and let it dry on a tea towel.

I don't eat my dishes

More seriously, dishes are not porous so soap residue can be rinsed off. Soap residue soaks into fruit and veg, even those with skins.

This is very bad advice, eating soap residue can cause serious gastrointestinal problems.

I've washed fruit and veg in water all my life, it has come out of the ground and been touched by countless people before you get it. I also wash the soil (and insects) off home grown produce.

I eat alot of fruit and just run it under the tap like i always have

I've always washed fruit/veg before eating it, all my life, due to pesticide residues, etc! But now it gets a soapy water rinse, rather than just pure water.

But what is the point of rinsing off pesticides just to eat other chemicals??

I use a food safe, organic veggie wash. Have done since kids were babies. Cleans off the pesticides etc.

There are people who don't wash fruit and veg?
Are they the same people who needed to be told to wash their hands after going to the toilet?
I've often wondered why there are so many D&V outbreaks in this country.
Thanks OP for clearing that up! Now I know!

I believe some people are buying bottles of a special germ killing stuff that you soak fresh produce in for a bit but I just continue to wash in water as normal. (Maybe I'm not so normal after all...)

I have always washed fruit and veg in water regardless of covid.

I use Milton sterilising fluid. It lasts 24 hours, dunk the fruit/ veg in and leave soak for 20 minutes then dry.

I vaguely know you’re meant to wash (rinse) fruit and veg before eating, but I only really bother when pregnant- it’s advised then to avoid any bacteria like listeriosis.
Of course this is only for fruits and veg you’re going to eat raw and eat the skin, like whole apples/pears but not bananas, not things like courgettes and peppers if you’re chopping them up to cook but yes to lettuce and bags of salad.
However, the recommendation is to rinse in cold water, not to use anything else.
Does anyone have a salad spinner anymore?! I don’t

I do rinse peppers, courgettes etc. but not bananas or oranges. It doesn't exactly take much effort, and I'm as lazy as they come!

Twenty minutes in Milton seems like massive overkill though. And if you soak them, won't the veg and fruit absorb some?

OP it's really simple. Just wash it in warm, soapy water to remove dirt, infectious diseases etc then rinse it to remove the soap.

@FestiveStuffing

I do rinse peppers, courgettes etc. but not bananas or oranges. It doesn't exactly take much effort, and I'm as lazy as they come!

Twenty minutes in Milton seems like massive overkill though. And if you soak them, won't the veg and fruit absorb some?

Thats what I thought. I cant stand the smell of milton either

I’ve never seen the point. If rinsing in cold water got rid of pesticides then they’d have to be resprayed every time it rained. Most of the stuff with mud on it or in it gets peeled/cooked so that takes care of the ecoli situation because it’s mostly stuck to the soil. Leeks I do rinse because soil can get stuck in the folds. Cold water isn’t going to get rid of bacteria from other people handling the fruit and veg, you’d need hot water for that.

People soak fruit/veg in vinegar or Milton? I only wash anything that looks muddy ie leeks and have survived thus far into my fifties.

Gosh, I am no domestic goddess but I've always washed fruit and veg that isn't peeled. Don't you have to do it in case there is bacteria attached to it? I just do it under running water, not with soap or sterilising fluid though.

I always wash fruit and veg but just in water, although I’m not sure how effective that would be to remove things like E. coli etc. I understand that in some countries (and in some pre-prepped salads here) hypochlorite solution is used which sounds nasty but I suppose it kills lots of things. I also heard recently on Farming Today that there are new strains of bugs on lettuce that are becoming more resistant to washing. Great, just what we need! You should definitely make sure you wash soil off if you buy produce from the East of England as we have tetanus in the soil. Ideally everyone has an up to date booster but I didn’t know this before the practice nurse jabbed me.

I have always washed fruit, veg and salad before eating unless it's home grown or peeled. Just a rinse under the tap to remove pesticides.

Like @picklemewalnuts, I use warm water with washing up liquid and wash like a dish. Washing up liquid water rinsed off does you no harm on plateds - no reason it should on an apple or tomato.

I suppose that as our water has chlorine in anyway that might be helpful for getting rid of some nasty stuff on veggies.

Never washed fruit

I rinse it because some supermarkets dip things like carrots in a big vat of cleaning fluid to preserve and clean them.

I understand that in some countries (and in some pre-prepped salads here) hypochlorite solution is used which sounds nasty but I suppose it kills lots of things.

Just dilute bleach. Which can be used as a water steriliser, in the correct quantities - when we did a trip down the Grand Canyon the river water was treated with a bit to make it safe to drink, for instance.

But what is the point of rinsing off pesticides just to eat other chemicals??
So you never add salt and vinegar to your chips...or eat anything come to think...
Everything is 'chemicals'. Pesticides are ones specifically designed to be poisonous.