Weaning - food prep of salad

[Star39]

Hi all
I would like to ask a stupid question which has been bothering me all day.
My 8 month old baby went to visit some of my family yesterday and a family member gave her a couple of pieces of cucumber to ‘gum’ on.
Usually I wouldn’t mind but afterwards the family member exclaimed that she hadn’t washed the cucumber beforehand and never washes any fruit or veg before hand (she had left the skin in the cucumber for grip).
I am now extremely worried that maybe my baby will get ill.
I have no idea how cucumbers are grown (do they grow in soil therefore toxoplasmosis could be an issue???) are cucumbers washed before they have the plastic wrapping put on?
I have looked and it does say wash before use. I can’t stop thinking about it xx

Cucumbers grow on a vine, so it's unlikely that they'd touch soil if commercially grown (and if they did touch it, it's unlikely that toxoplasmosis would be an issue on commercial premises). I'd be more worried about bacteria causing food poisoning or about pesticides, but growers do have to adhere to "safe" levels of pesticides because it's not always possible to wash it all off (the pesticide issue is why some people choose to peel fruit/veg or serve organic, but other people don't and see no ill effects).

In short, if your DD seems ok, I really wouldn't worry. It's too late to do anything about it now and it's very unlikely to have done her any harm. I'd equate the risk with your DD picking something up off the floor and putting it in her mouth (if she isn't doing that now, she soon will be!).

I mean this kindly - you do sound very anxious - are you regularly up worrying like this? I'm picking up on the fact that you're leaping ahead to the worst possible scenario whereas most people would think 'oops, I must remember to wash/check next time, I'll keep an eye on DD but she'll probably be fine". If this happens regularly it might be worth seeking some support from your GP.

It'll be absolutely fine.

Apart from spinach and kale ( which can be a bit gritty), I don't wash any veg or fruit unless it looks dirty. Didn't while I was pregnant either. We're all fine, it's a really low risk.

A quick rinse under the cold tap will do nothing to kill bacteria etc. I never wash any veg either and always fine. Your baby will pick up all sorts now it's summer and outside more. I wouldn't worry.

I wash fruit and veg but I wouldn’t overly worry if someone hadn’t

Toxoplasmosis isn't typically an issue if infected when not pregnant (they think up to 50% of the world's population have it), it might cause a flu like illness but otherwise healthy individuals are unlikely to have other problems. The main issue if you get infected for the first time when pregnant when it can cause congential toxoplasmosis which can be serious for an unborn baby so unless your 8month is a medical marvel and somehow pregnant I wouldn't worry about toxo. Also as pp cucumbers grow on vines they don't really come into contact with soil anyway. I've had a pet cat, garden, love cured meats and not too fussy about washing fruit and veg and never caught it apparently so think the risk off an unwashed cucumber would be almost non existent.

Bacteria might be more of a problem but again really really low risk and you'd know fairly quickly if they got food poisoning. I don't tend to wash cucumber and always been fine.

Tldr- it'll be fine

Are you supposed to wash it? Oops 😳

My 8 month old likes to eat grass though so I guess unwashed cucumber is the least of my worries!

I've never washed any fruit or veg...what is running it under water going to do?

You sound very anxious OP

It is wise to wash fruit and veg to remove traces of pesticides and fertilisers used in commercial farming (unless you grow them yourself and know what’s on them). Also not a bad idea given that nearly all recent listeria and e.coli outbreaks in Europe have been related to commercial processing of fruit and veg. But one time is unlikely to do any harm and I’m sure it’s fine.