How do you wash your produce??

[tvillemom]

I've been alittle nervous lately, with all the e-coli scares. Wondering what is the safest way to wash my produce? Since everything is RAW and there is no heat to help with disease and germs, I'm just feeling that water is not enough to CLEAN what I eat. However, I'm not TOO worried, I'm still eating it:rolleyes: but realizing that if there is a GERM on my "apple" the water is NOT going to wash it off. Should I be concerned?
Wendi

[Revvell]

Should you be concerned? I dunno. I'm not. I rarely wash my produce other than to get the dirt off. *shrugs* I'm still here!!!!

Revvell

[Veganforlife]

I'm w/Revvell on this. If I happen to not have organic, yes, I will wash my produce off and I use a plant-based "soap". Veggie Wash I think it's called.

[punkspirit]

hello tvillemon :)

when your food is NOT organic I would be more concerened about all the poison..

generally I think a "raw body" can handle those bacteries...:confused: dunno.. I never had any problems...

I wash my food only with water. and I even use HOT water!! I mean I shower it first hot,then cold and hot and cold .. I MEAN THEN THE FOOD does not really get heated up... (wash some grapes with hot water... and then eat one.. it is NOT hot ;) )

dunno.. for me it works and I think its still raw... I mean at least I hope so:p

[RawVegan4Health]

I wash them if I see or feel any dirt on them. I'm still alive....for now!:p

[Ariannah]

I rarely wash my produce. A swish with the sink sprayer is as good as it gets for me.

[lafsalot]

Not good enough - I don't see that well, and I can't tell you how many times I've found parts of the stickers still on the chopped veggies/fruit ~ Cathy

[tvillemom]

Thanks ya'll. Like I said, I just wash my produce with water. Sometimes if it's a cucumber that feels "waxy" then I use the veggie wash stuff to help break down that stuff. Anyway, I was just wondering if I should be worried, sounds like NO!;)
Wendi

[hypnocmt]

You can use veggie wash. It seems to work nicely. I often just use water. I think the key is not to just get your produce wet, but really shower it off. Make sure the dirty water is going off the fruit/veggie and into the sink, rather than recontaminating the food.


A few germs here and there are like a good boot camp for the immune system.

[Revvell]

I rarely buy cukes with wax on them. When I do, I peel.

Revvell

[Maria]

I use veggie wash on waxy things, and anything that's not organic. I rinse off debris on my greens. Not worried about germs at all.

[juliebove]

"Should I be worried" is a choice you would have to make. Personally I choose not to worry because it isn't productive to do so.

As for my produce, I rinse it with water.

[garden granny]

I wash lettuce, kale, parsley, etc., in a large pot of cold water, swish it around and then let it sit a minute or so, so any dirt, etc. will fall to the bottom of the pot, then gently pick up your greens out of the water and pat dry with a towel or sometimes use a salad spinner.

[tvillemom]

Thanks garden granny....you look so young..certainly you are not a grandma. Thanks for the tip.
Wendi

[garden granny]

Thanks garden granny....you look so young..certainly you are not a grandma. Thanks for the tip.
Wendi

Thanks - I'm proud to say I'm a grandma of 2, and I'm 53 - must be this raw food lifestyle;)

[rawsurfer]

you dont want to wash your produce with hot water unless it is purified by an osmosis or distiller because the harmful chemicals such as chlorine and flouride will leach into your food much faster hot than it would cold.

also i think when its organic you dont want to wash too much cuz don't you get b12 from the bacteria?
hey maybe you get some good cultures as well...

[punkspirit]

:eek: @rawsurfer: That was a point I never looked at...

[RowanC]

Pretty much all of my unpeeled produce is organic, so I just give it a quick rinse.

I peel waxed stuff.

The e-coli scare is so much hype it's ridiculous.
More people die in car accidents every hour, and they're not outlawing cars.

[puffysmom]

I use a veggie wash. I am not worried about the germs and such that is natural. What i do worry about is who handled it before me and did they wash their hands after using the bathroom. One would hope so but I do know that a lot of people don't. I always thought it was a male thing but have noticed that even females don't always wash.
Also I noticed that when the field hands picked strawberries up here they only had a porta potty. No place to wash their hands.
One other thing. U handle the carts, money and a lot of other things while handling your veggies. All of them have been handled by unclean hands.
The other day my DIL gave change to a man and he dropped it down into his shorts. He gave her a smirk and went walking out of the store jingling all the way. LOLOL. Need I say more? I do wash and only for that reason.

[tvillemom]

Puffysmom!!! You nailed it. I AM more worried about WHO touched my food...not as much the dirt, but the germs from being shipped, and who has touched it. Thanks for the reply. Thanks to everyone who posted.
Take care. I'm using my veggie wash....but does that take care of the germs that might come from someone who handled my produce who didn't wash their hands???
Wendi

[jeannieh99]

I wash lettuce, kale, parsley, etc., in a large pot of cold water, swish it around and then let it sit a minute or so, so any dirt, etc. will fall to the bottom of the pot, then gently pick up your greens out of the water and pat dry with a towel or sometimes use a salad spinner.

I had a chance to look at the water quality in my area, I am alarmed at the amount of arsenic, chlorine and other chemicals I really don't want in my water supply. I can't afford a fixed filter on my sink. I worry how much of it gets in my fruits and vegetables when I wash them. I do wash everything out of habit, and because I am turned off when I bite into something and feel specs of grit which has happened one too many times.
I like your idea of letting the dirt float to the bottom. Does anyone else have water quality concerns?
Jeannie

[RowanC]

Washing will not get rid of e-coli anyway.

I give my greens a quick rinse to get off critters I can see.. that's it.
All the rest will innoculate you against worse, imo

[barose]

I wash with a veggie wash, even my organic produce. It might be organic, but who knows who handled it from the field to the store and how. Do fruit/veggie pickers wash their hands after using the bathroom? Where? I've never seen hand washing stations in the fields. I'm not overly paranoid, but its not like I know where my food came from.

ETA: Puffysmom and tvillemom, you already said what I was thinking!

[mercurial]

Research has shown the most effective way to reduce bacterial infestation on food products is with a simple warm wash. They did a study to see which worked best: 1) simple water rinse 2) rigorous water scrub 3) commercial produce washes/sprays 4) chlorine wash 5) chlorine with water wash. Between all of the above the simple water wash reduced the bacterial cultures the most (used e-coli 1057), but it still left 2,300 cultures and it only takes 100 spores to make a human sick. The 2nd best was the chlorine and water wash, but why bother when the water does better. So, the commercial washes do not actually help reduce bacteria, but I do find them helpful to remove waxes and dirt.

If you are healthy then you should not have much to worry about. However, if you have a compromised immune system, like my dd, then you should be very cautious! As such, I do not mess around with her food. She does not get certain foods known to be at greater risk for contamination and I use antibacterial soap to wash ALL produce. I then wash and dry them at least 5 times without the soap. It's a lot of work, but I have to be concerned about her contracting one of the deadly, for her, bacterias.

If I were you, I'd just wash the produce and then put it in the fridge, instead of vice versa. As long as your fridge is up to par on temp. and kept clean, it should be okay. If it looks or smells bad, don't eat it. You cannot eliminate the possibility completely, but you can reduce it. I did read one man who used ACV to soak some of his food for 24 hours, because certain bacteria require a certain pH level to survive and ACV has a low pH so it's believed the bacteria will die off when left soaking in it. I've never tried it and wonder how everything would taste...sour! I am also looking into grapefruit seed extract blends I can make at home with other ingredients as a more natural wash. However, I fear another hospitalization so I am very cautious. As for my own food I do not worry as much, like if I grab an apple at the store I don't worry as long as it's organic.

But I would think, just my opinion, that if you're healthy not to worry too much about it. Most healthy adults that consume enough bacteria to get ill will make it through, but it sucks! I had salmonella poisoning once and I thought I was dying for 24 hours! It sure did clean out my system though :) It's much more harsh on a child and elderly's system though.

The above is strictly my personal opinion and not meant to sway anyone's views.