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!

I have always washed fruit and veg with water. It’s got soil, fertiliser and all sorts on it 🤢

Anyway... we're mostly just washing in plain water but then either peeling or cooking just about everything at the moment.

Anyone who doesn't wash fruit and veg has never spent a summer working in a field picking veg or fruit.

All I'm saying is there's not many toilet or hand washing facilities there and there's a lot of people picking. (definitely not envy)

It's shit I'm washing off btw, not chemicals.

@MissMarpletheMurderer

Do people not wash fruit? Sod covid it's how it's been picked/stored handled that makes me wash it.

This. We always wash fruit and veg before eating it.

Urgh. I think food is supposed to washed with soap, not dettol. I've always washed fruit and veg that way.

"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."

I honestly do not get how you can a. only vaguely know this - I feel like it was drummed into me from birth and b. only want to avoid bacteria while pregnant. I'm far from a clean freak, but if you don't wash produce before eating it, you are eating actual animal shit, plus all the germs from all the people who have touched it from the field to the supermarket.

It is basic hygiene like washing your hands or wiping your arse.

I feel like we should have some kind of poll to see who is from the countryside and who is from the city. Anyone who grew up rurally surely knows that you wash stuff that comes out of the actual ground covered in dirt.

@Scarby9

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.

It goes through the skin, it doesn't wash off like a piece of crockery.

I've always washed fruit and salad stuff. I just rinse it in cold water.

@Ithinkim

Anyone who doesn't wash fruit and veg has never spent a summer working in a field picking veg or fruit.

All I'm saying is there's not many toilet or hand washing facilities there and there's a lot of people picking. (definitely not envy)

That was my exact thought (having spent several summers picking fruit)

Plus, I won’t forget the time I went into the shed where the pocked fruit was awaiting collection and saw a swarming mass of rats. (Not in the UK, but the fruit was destined for export.... to the UK)

I wash things in cold water to remove dirt/slugs etc, and then rely on the cooking process for an extra layer of protection. I don't bother washing anything that is peeled before it's eaten (eg a banana).

@FunkBus

I feel like we should have some kind of poll to see who is from the countryside and who is from the city. Anyone who grew up rurally surely knows that you wash stuff that comes out of the actual ground covered in dirt.

I grew up in London and we have all always washed fruit.

Maybe don’t make assumptions about people because of where they come from? Might be a good resolution for you.

@MiddleClassProblem yours could be to improve your reading comprehension and get the chip off your shoulder

Think of all the men who don't wash their hands after peeing then go to the supermarket and handle all the apples to pick out the best one... didn't they find loads of urine traces in bowls of bar nuts?

I just wash in water but rub them quite thoroughly when washing then!

[quote FunkBus]@MiddleClassProblem yours could be to improve your reading comprehension and get the chip off your shoulder[/quote]
Really? You completely imply that people who live in urban areas would be the ones who don’t know to wash fruit.

I just give fruit a quick swill under the tap, I don't bother with veg as it is usually boiled in water. I have never disinfected any food due to Covid

@FunkBus

I feel like we should have some kind of poll to see who is from the countryside and who is from the city. Anyone who grew up rurally surely knows that you wash stuff that comes out of the actual ground covered in dirt.

That's unfair.

Some of us city dwellers have grown our own produce so know you wash it before eating it.

A routine we have at home is to unpack the shopping and before and fruit or veg is packed away we wash it.

I fill the basin with cold water and soak for about 15 minutes. I keep meaning to buy vinegar for the job but I haven't yet. The waxy residue that floats on the water afterwards is beautiful but proof (to me) that it needs doing.

We also wash veg after prepping it esp carrots/potatoes

Have found that decanting from whatever packaging bought in (though we try and avoid) and "washing" before storing helps it last longer. Corn on the cob (if in a plastic bag and not the ear) goes really horrible if you don't de-bag and wash.

We have a salad spinner and use it several times a week!

They did ask the sky news microbiologist consult about this and he said fresh produce that would not be cooked or peeled was a potential risk as you couldn’t really wash it effectively (I think he assumed no one would use cleaning products on fruit). He didn’t say what to do though.

If concerned about covid I would peel the fruit, but covid aside you should always wash fruit and veg to remove pesticides/soil/dirt from being handled by multiple people.

Never washed fruit or veg. Leeks if they have grit, mushrooms with a brush but never washed anything else
I'm immunocompromised but stomach of steel, technically i shouldn't eat raw fruit/salad anyway but never had an issue

Never rinsed fruit or veg before eating, whether in water, soap, bleach or otherwise.

Obviously you'd give spuds straight out of the ground a wash. But not the rest of it.

www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/how-to-wash-fruit-and-vegetables/

"Some of us city dwellers have grown our own produce so know you wash it before eating it."

Where did I say no one from the city would know?

Read before commenting

"Really? You completely imply that people who live in urban areas would be the ones who don’t know to wash fruit."

Did not imply that at all

@FunkBus

"Some of us city dwellers have grown our own produce so know you wash it before eating it."

Where did I say no one from the city would know?

Read before commenting

"Really? You completely imply that people who live in urban areas would be the ones who don’t know to wash fruit."

Did not imply that at all

I think you should read your original post back because you say there should be a poll city vs rural and that “ Anyone who grew up rurally surely knows that you wash stuff that comes out of the actual ground covered in dirt”. That’s implying that people from cities would lose that poll. You can be as patronising as you like about comprehension but if two of us read it like that, maybe you should question your wording vs what you meant. I genuinely can’t see it any other way.