Does washing fruit, veg and salad in cold running water remove all traces of pesticides & bacteria?!
Answers: if not then eating 5 portions a day isn't healthy at all
In a word, no. I think the closest you can get to removing all bacteria is around 98%--but that's really not too bad. I recently read an article on the topic because I was researching food safety. One study shows that the veggie washes don't do much more than water. The researchers suggest instead that you combine water and vinegar in a 3:1 ratio, rinse the produce in it, and then rinse off the residue with cold water.
But the other answerers on the board are right; one way to avoid pesticides (though not bacteria) is to grow your own produce or buy organic. It will still need a good cleaning, though.
Hope this helps.
Tessa Somers
Buy organic - much fewer chemical traces on organic produce.
They are not that much more expensive, and anyway - what price health?
No it removes a lot of the pesticides, grow your own veg in an allotment, you know whats on them and the bugs are a little protein...
That is a good point. Until i can be sure of the answer I will avoid my 5 daily portions.
Thanks for that Faddy
Use a produce wash that will remove the pesticides, etc. They do a much better job than water alone.
No, bc the pesticides go right into the fruit.
Buy organic if you can find it.
Also, I use a fruit wash and the best I have found is "Veggie Wash." It works exceptionally well on grapes. Do *not* try to use it on mushrooms though bc it will leave them brown & with an odd flavor.
yes it also removes all little tiny insects that you dont see