Clean fruits and vegetables properly before preparing.
While eating fruits and vegetables is a healthy endeavor, eating produce contaminated with bacteria is not so healthy. Suffering from a food-borne illness is serious, sometimes life-threatening, especially for those under 5 years of age, over 50 or those with weak immune systems. Follow the recommendations to effectively clean your fruit and vegetables with commercially available products. Does this Spark an idea?
Commercial Cleaning Solutions
Commercial cleaning solutions formulated to remove dirt and germs from fruits and vegetables are not effectively proven. Manufacturers of these sprays claim they remove dirt along with surface microbes and pesticides. But these washes are not currently recommended by the U.S. Department of Agriculture or the Food and Drug Administration. A study performed by the University of Maine Extension actually found that distilled water was just as effective at removing microbes as commercial produce washing treatments.
Scrub Brush
Remove dirt and other substances from the outside of your fruits and vegetables with a clean scrub brush. While not recommended for direct use on fruits and vegetables, bleach is an effective disinfectant to sanitize your scrub brush. Rinse the scrub brush in a solution of 1 tsp. chlorine bleach to 4 cups of water before scrubbing your produce.
Vinegar
Vinegar diluted with three parts water to one part vinegar is an effective fruit and vegetable cleaning product, according to the editors of Cook's Illustrated magazine. They performed an experiment in which they washed fruits and vegetables in different ways with water, antibacterial soap, a scrub brush and the vinegar solution. They swabbed the outside of the produce after washing and let the bacteria grow. The vinegar solution showed 98 percent effectiveness in removing the bacteria.
Warnings
Do not soak fruits and vegetables in water; this may cause cross-contamination. Refrain from using antibacterial soaps, bleach or dish detergents on fruits and vegetables. The soap or bleach can soak into the produce since fruits and vegetables are porous or, at the very least, remain on the outside of the produce. The FDA does not consider bleach or soaps safe for consumption.
Tags: fruits vegetables, scrub brush, outside produce, remove dirt, vegetables with, vinegar solution