cleaning fruits & veggies with clorox?

[bluebird]

Hi all, Ok please don't throw things at me I just wanted to toss this information out there.I have a book called Juice fasting and detoxification by steve meyerwitz.The book says using clorox to soak your fruits & vegetables acts as a chelating agent removing parasites and their eggs,and claims to remove lead & radiation it extracts pollutants and pesticides.It is controversial but they say that nutritionists and naturalpathic doctors recommend it.My sister and I have done it when we could'nt afford organic.Does any one know anything about this. this is the directions, 1tsp clorox per 1 gallon of water soak for 10 m, drain and soak again in fresh water for 10m soak again in fresh water 2-3 times until you no longer smell bleach.This seems a little scary and I truely don't know if it works.and it probably goes against any raw foodist ideas.I was just hopeing someone out there new if this was truly safe.It would be a great alternative to those of us on a stricter budget, on the other hand if I knew it was not safe I would never use it again. Check the book out it's on page 54. see ya

[Rawkinlocs]

Here is a semi-recent thread on this...you'll see that there are some for it and some against it (as with anything): http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=23396&highlight=clorox

[Nectarine]

Soaking my food in something that smells of, and is in fact, bleach? I don't like the sound of that :(

[Stina]

Well, I can't afford organics but in the greater scheme of things I can't afford to not eat organics. So on my skimpy budget I still splurge on organics. I think it's a good idea to clean produce regardless but I'm pretty lax on it. If I were going to, I would use the natural hydrogen peroxide found at HFS.

[Nectarine]

Okay that's it! I'm getting strong vibes that this is something I should do now, not in the coming months as I had intended. I'll sweep the local fruit and veg shops, and see if I can try for at least 60% organic produce in my diet. Loving this forum more everyday :cool:

[trinity082482]

No way! I wouldn't even put my clothes in bleach! Do you know what it does to your clothes? It could take the color purple right off your shirt and make it white!!! :eek: Why would you put your food in something like that? :o

[Ariannah]

I'm not exactly "rich" myself, but I still buy as much organic as I can. It's a matter of perspective what is "expensive". I don't see why a coffee and pastry for $2 is a "good deal" and yet $2 for an organic mango isn't, for instance.

For me buying organic isn't only about less exposure to pesticides. It's about the quality of the soil it was grown in and how the trees/plants were treated during growing. It's the soil itself which feeds the plant, which in turn feeds us.

Taking pesticides out of an inferior plant won't make it any better, in my opinion. And I have issues with using bleach. I go out of my way to buy chlorine-free water, so adding it back into my water to soak produce would defeat the purpose.

[Veganforlife]

This was taken directly off http://www.sproutman.com/salmonella.html

This is very unfortunate for organic sprout growers who share the commitment to food safety. Organic growers simply disagree about the degree of risk. They believe that bleach is more dangerous to the environment that the protection it offers. They claim that organic farming methods yield clean organic seed that is safe. (Contaminated seed is the source of all salmonella in sprouts.) The HACCP plan (FDA) requires soaking seed in a bleach solution so strong it needed EPA approval. Growers need to wear protective clothing just to use it and object to this approach to the problem because it would mean that the average size grower would be dumping hundreds of gallons of bleach water in local rivers and tributaries on a regular basis.

I can't imagine that Steve would promote using bleach after reading this. I'm not saying that he didn't, but it is just surprising. Now I have gotten bleach from my local HFS to clean my sprouters, etc. It does not smell like Chlorox. It doesn't burn your hands. I'll have to see what it doesn't contain the Chlorox does. I just looked at my container. It says it is a NON-CHLORINE bleach. Apparently the chlorine is the culprit. Maybe that's the kind Steve is referring to?

Here is another article:

It is hard for consumers to tell what they are buying as many manufacturers do not disclose what their level of active ingredients are on the label. The only way to get this information is to contact the company and ask for a copy of their Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS for short) which they have to by law provide to you. If you look in section 2 which lists the ingredients it should tell you what type of oxygen bleach (sodium percarbonate or sodium perborate)is used and a percentage. The highest quality oxygen bleaches contain at least 80% bleach.

www.oxygenbleach.homestead.com/files/ has some good information on various products.

[JGex]

I had a fav shirt that got a stain on the front of it... I dampened it a little and put powdered Oxyclean on it. I forgot about it for a couple of days.... when I unfloded it to throw it in the wash, the entire front of the shirt was GONE. Completely eaten away. Not a trace.

On my veggies? No thanks!

[farmgirl]

OxyClean and Clorox Bleach (spelled C-L-O-R-O-X - no "H" in there anywhere) are not the same thing, by a long shot.

Clorox is not a "chlorine" based bleach, thus no "H" in the name. It's main ingredient is Sodium Hypochlorite. It turns into a salt base when the liquid is evaporated.

I've been using this food wash for six years. The military uses it, as well. It is used 1/2 tsp Clorox per gallon of water when using the Ultra Clorox. I use it to clean meat, eggs, veggies and fruit.

You don't taste or even get any of the clorox, for heaven's sake. The food is cleaned in a soaking rinse after the Clorox soak, thus removing the Clorox. If you forget the last step (purified water rinse/soak for at least 15 minutes) you will, yes, get the Clorox in your system. Common sense must prevail if you're going to use this. It's not for people who are will-nilly in their actions.

Here's a website that explains it: http://www.thehealthyplanet.com/Soak...ir%20Worth.htm

[jaurequi]

Use plain, inexpensive, generic white vinegar and/or hydrogen peroxide (food grade).

Otherwise, just use water.

Best,

[cassidy]

Jeeeezzz... I just use water. :rolleyes:

[christiahall]

Oops... I haven't been remembering to clean my produce unless I see dirt on it... I hope I don't get sick.

[koolkidz]

I just ordered some veggie wash...thanks whoever it was that posted that site. Looking forward to clean veggies using all natural ingredients.

For those of you just using water...thought this was interesting. The wax that is put onto many of the fruits and veggies such as apples, cucumbers and peppers actually holds the pesticides onto the fruit and does not wash off with water alone...thought that was interesting. I used to rinse with water only....not anymore!

[Rawzula]

I use either rice vinegar or soap to wash my produce off.

[pdx kris]

I use the clorox soak for my non-organic veggies and fruits. Otherwise I just use a stiff brush and water.