Why I wash My Organic Fruit and Vegetables

Why I wash my organic fruit and vegetables.

How many times are your fruit and veggies handled before they end up at your house? Handled by a farmer, by workers at the farm boxing, to then be stacked on the shelf and handled by a cashier….

Organic produce still needs to be washed as it can still contain pathogens, dirt, bacteria and some pesticides.

The truth is that organic farming practices still allow for certain pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides to be used and they are approved under organic farming practices.

A quick rinse under the tap isn’t enough to remove bacteria or pesticides from the outside of your fruits and vegetables. (Think E. Coli or Listeria)

One study from the Department of Analytical Chemistry at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station found that at least 30 seconds of rinsing is best to “significantly reduce” the presence of dirt and bacteria from the surface of your produce, and friction is important to ensure you’re actually getting all traces off.

Washing produce with a 10% apple cider vinegar solution reduced both viruses and bacteria by more than 90%. But didn’t remove pesticides.

In a study at the University of Massachusetts, scientists showed Baking soda removes up to 96% of pesticides from fruit and vegetables. The researchers applied the common pesticides thiabendazole which has been shown to penetrate apple skin and phosmet to organic red apples. These pesticides were left on the fruit for one day. The researchers then washed the apples with 1% baking soda mixed with water.
Electronic mapping technology was used to assess pesticide presence on the surface of, and inside, the apples. Results reveal that sodium bicarbonate mixed with water is the most effective way of removing pesticides from apples when soaked for up to 15 mins.
This is only helpful when removing pesticides that sit on the surface of the skin as opposed to those that are penetrated deeper into the produce. Bi carb soda is also a mild mild alkali and can remove grease and dirt gently.

Fruit and Veg washes can also be effective but please, please check the labels first!