How to Clean Your Fruits and Vegetables Appropriately
Cleaning your oranges, bananas, tomatoes and
apples may sound like old plain common sense but have you ever wondered where
your fruits were before you bought them! The fruits and vegetables you buy, may
look clean when you pick them at the grocery store, but that's not always the
case. Your fruits are handled by so many different hands all the way from the
farm to the grocery store. Additionally, most produce are covered with a lot of
pesticides and herbicides. All this means that a lot of bacteria and chemicals
get accumulated. Such bacteria and chemicals could have potential risks to your
health since they cause food-borne diseases.
We all need fruits and veggies in our diets
but not the bacteria and chemicals that come along with them. Cleaning your
fruits effectively is key especially when you plan to eat them raw. Many of us
use just water to wash our fruits and vegetables, but we should consider the
fact that pesticides are designed to withstand the rain, so using just water to
remove the surface bacteria and chemicals may not be of great help. Many of us
also think that it would be appropriate to wash our fruits and vegetables with
dish soap/detergent. These household soaps have different properties and may
contain undesirable chemicals as well. These soaps/detergents penetrate through
the skin of fruits and vegetables making it impossible for you to rinse them
off and that is why FDA does not recommend using dish washing agents/
detergents.
Here are 5 tips on how you can enhance the
hygiene of your fruits:
1. Wash you hands with an anti-bacterial soap
Before you wash your fruits and vegetables,
wash your hands with an anti-bacterial soap. Hands carry a lot of bacteria
which can be easily transferred on your produce. However be sure to clean your
hands thoroughly to ensure that you do not get the soap on your food.
2. Invest in a brush
Firm fruits and vegetables such as pineapples,
potatoes, oranges and apples can be scrubbed with a vegetable brush while
rinsing with clean water to remove dirt and residues.
3. Be thoroughly
Germs can bury themselves in tiny crevices.
Before washing, cut off all stalks and stems which tend to be very dirty and
ensure that you cut off stalks and stems. Remove bruised and damaged spots
where bacteria can thrive. Also ensure that you wash everything, even if the
pack states that they are pre-washed.
4. The outer layer
Despite the fact that you might peel the outer
layer and throw it away, bacteria can still be transferred from the outer part
to the inside part through the knife you use to peel. There shouldn't be an
excuse of not cleaning the outer part in the name of 'I'm not going to eat the
outer part.'
5. Consider cleaning using vinegar
Some dirt may not be entirely water soluble
e.g pesticides, waxy preservatives and oils from hands of shoppers who touch
each and every fruits and vegetable looking for the most appealing one. Vinegar
could come in handy to dissolve such dirt. Consider using diluted vinegar
solution of 1 part vinegar and 3 parts water which you can choose to keep in a
spray bottle for convenience. The FDA does not currently recommend using soap
however some food stores sell organic vegetable and fruit cleansers that are
safe.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Lilian_Ritah_Nekesa/1348889
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