Fruit and veg are promoted as the healthiest of foods - but what's the best way to clean them of pesticides and other nasties that could damage your health or that of your children?
You can’t beat fruit and vegetables as part of a healthy diet, but you do need to be aware that no matter where you buy them from - the supermarket, local grocer or famer’s market - there’s no guarantee pesticide residues or unwanted contaminants like germs and viruses aren’t on the skins.
Pesticides can be of concern, particularly if they accumulate over time in the body. Serious food poisoning outbreaks have been linked to a range of fruit and vegetables including lettuce and baby spinach leaves, tomatoes, baby corn and raspberries.
But there’s a very simple way to remove these germs and pesticides and that’s by rinsing the fruits and vegetables under tap water.
In fact, research has shown that tap water works as well as a mild soap solution or commercial fruit and vegetable washes.
Scientists did a study comparing pesticide removal methods on batches of lettuce, strawberries and tomatoes.One batch of each produce type was analysed just as it was, without being rinsed in any way. A second batch was rinsed under tap water for one minute.
The remaining batches were treated with different commercial washes or with a one per cent solution of Palmolive detergent and then rinsed under tap water for one minute.
Tap water reduced the residues of about 75 per cent of the pesticides tested and it worked just as well as the soap and wash products available commercially.
Physically rubbing the produce under the tap water was the key to the successful removal of the pesticides. Water temperature was not an important factor.
To deal with the removal of potential micro-organisms (bacteria and viruses) on fruit and vegetables, another group of researchers found that rinsing produce in solution of water with 10 per cent vinegar reduced bacteria by 90 per cent and viruses by 95 per cent.
The scientists recommended that to remove pesticides and germs, rinse fruit and vegetables with a vinegar solution and then wash under tap water for at least 30 seconds.
For most of us, the simple act of rubbing fruits and vegetables under running tap water will go a long way to removing pesticide residues and ensure that we enjoy the many health benefits of eating fresh produce.
References:
Krol WJ (2000) Removal of trace pesticide residues from produce. Connecticut Agricultural Experiemnt Station AC003 (10/00) 1-4.
Lukasik J, Bradley ML, Scott TM, Dea M, Koo A, Hsu WY, Bartz JA, Farrah SR (2003) Reduction of poliovirus 1, bacteriophages, Salmonella montevideo, and Escherichia coli O157:H7 on strawberries by physical and disinfectant washes. Journal of Food Protection 66: 188-193.
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Find Out About Your Food
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