Sunday, March 17, 2019

How to Wash Your Produce Properly

 

Consuming more fruits and vegetables goes without saying if you want to lead a healthier lifestyle. However, over the last few years, the increasing popularity in enjoying raw foods has come with the risk for infection. Before, produce made up only a small portion of outbreak sources, with the majority coming from meat and dairy products. That has changed now that large food-borne outbreaks from contaminated fruits and vegetables are appearing more and more often in the headlines.

 

In our modern world, almost no food is 100% free of pesticides. Pesticides pose very real and serious risks to those who are exposed to. In fact, a large body of evidence associated exposure to pesticide to an increased rate of chronic diseases including cancer, diabetes, neurodegenerative diseases such as parkinson’s and alzheimer’s, ALS birth defects and reproductive disorders, asthma, COPD and more. Many of the more severe cases often happen to farmworkers who are exposed to pesticides on a daily basis. This is one reason the average farmworker in the US is reported to live only to the age of 49.

 

Aditionally, it’s especially important for pregnant women and children to avoid exposure to pesticides. A study suggests that prenatal exposure to high levels of pesticides were associated with children with lower IQs. Children are also more vulnerable to pesticide toxicity than adults. This is because the developing brain is more susceptible to neurotoxins and the dose of pesticides per body weight is likely to be higher in children. Another study reported that when exposed to higher than median levels of pesticide residue, children are at a risk with double the odds of ADHD compared to those with undetectable levels.

 

Going Organic

To reduce your pesticide exposure, the conventional advice is to choose organic food when you can. Eating organically grown foods reduces your exposure to both pesticide residue and antibiotic-resistant bacteria. This is backed by research from Stanford University, which analyzed 17 different studies comparing the health effects of organic and conventional foods.

 

We understand that going fully organic may not fit into everyone’s budget, but you can still eliminate much of the pesticides from your food by prioritizing certain organic foods. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) releases their annually-updated guide that compiles a list of the most and least contaminated produce. EWG has named these as the most recent list of “Dirty Dozen” and “Clean 15”:

 

   -   The most contaminated produce aka the “Dirty Dozen”: strawberries, spinach, nectarines, apples, grapes, peaches, cherries, pears, tomatoes, celery, sweet bell peppers and hot peppers.

 

   -   The least contaminated produce aka the “Clean Fifteen”: avocados, sweet corns*, pineapples, cabbage, onions, sweet peas (frozen), papayas*, asparagus, mangoes, eggplant, honeydew melon, kiwi, cantaloupe, cauliflower and broccoli.

*could be GMO, buy organic varieties if you want to avoid GMOs.

 

But surprisingly, even organic produce may contain some pesticide residues—just different ones. Why would organic farmers use pesticides? Like conventional farmers or anyone who owns a backyard garden, organic farmers are faced with weeds, insects, and diseases too. Conventional farmers are allowed to use 900 different synthetic pesticides. But organic farmers use pesticides made of substances that are natural in origin and only 25 synthetic pesticides—which are used only in carefully regulated ways.

 

So, what can we do to minimize pesticide exposure? We can start by washing our fruits and vegetables. A study by the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station found that pesticide residue was reduced for 9 of the 12 tested pesticides when produce was washed with running water. But just holding your fruits and veggies under a running tap doesn’t always cut. Pesticides are designed to stick to produce, even in inclement weather, so if you want your produce to be as pesticide-free as possible, it’s going to take a little more work.

 

Store-bought Produce Wash?

Research has shown that most commercial produce cleaners are no more effective than plain water. In addition to being not effective, these chemicals will leave a residue of their own on your produce and add a unpleasant flavor.

 

Salt Water & Vinegar

In a study published in Food Control, vegetables were soaked in vinegar, a salt water solution, and plain water to remove the residue of four common pesticides—chlorpyrifos, DDT, cypermethrin, and chlorothalonil. They discovered that a 10% salt water solution was the most effective, and far more so than washing with plain water. Vinegar also was found to be equally effective, however left foods with an unpleasant vinegary flavor. Using vinegar can get quite expensive too, making it less than ideal for a daily vegetable wash.

 

Baking Soda Solution

A recent study by the scientists from the University of Massachusetts reported the best new way to clean fruits and veggies. This study compared the effectiveness of plain water, a Clorox bleach solution, and a baking soda and water solution in removing pesticide residues from apples. The baking soda solution was found to be the most effective at removing pesticide residues both on surface and beneath the skin of the fruit. Submerging apples in a baking soda solution for two minutes removed more pesticides than a two-minute soak in the bleach solution, or two minutes of rinsing in running tap water. The baking soda solution used in the study was very weak—a mix of only one ounce of baking soda mixed with 100 ounces of water, but it took 12 to 15 minutes in the baking soda solution to completely remove the pesticides.

 

The baking soda technique works best when you mix one teaspoon of baking soda in two cups of water, and then leave to soak for 15 minutes. However, the researchers cleaned the produce much longer than most of us would on any ordinary day. In this busy era, no one has the time to wash vegetables for longer than a couple of minutes. So, we have revised some of these methods to more practical everyday use. In all honesty, it won’t be quite as effective as study results, but it should be more effective than plain water.

 

1. Only wash produce right before you eat it. Berries, especially, are prone to mold growth if they’re washed and stored in the fridge. This happens because when produce is wet, the surfaces become a moist and damp environment in which bacteria and germs thrive. Fruits and veggies may have natural coatings that keep moisture inside, and washing may make them spoil sooner.

 

2. Wash all pre-packaged produce like salad blends and bagged spinach, even if the label claims that the contents are pre-washed. It’s possible that the produce may have been exposed to bacteria or contain bug parts that were missed in the washing.

 

3. Start by washing your hands, utensils, cutting boards for 20 seconds with warm water and soap, not forgetting to clean the kitchen surfaces/countertops as well. Use two separate cutting boards to avoid cross-contamination, one for raw meats and other for fruits and vegetables. Color-coded cutting boards can help you remember which is which. Make sure to clean your utensils and cutting boards with hot soapy water between uses.

 

4. Wash produce BEFORE you peel it. That way dirt and bacteria won’t transfer around.

 

5. For hard produce like melons, cucumbers, citrus fruits and potatoes, these should be scrubbed with a vegetable brush under cold running water. They have lots of bumps and crevices where germs can gather.

 

For leafy greens, lettuce, and cabbage, first remove and discard the outer layers. Fill a salad spinner with greens, then fill with water. Add a teaspoon of baking soda and mix well.  Soak your greens for a minute, swish, dump, then rinse, and spin dry. If you don’t have a salad spinner, you can add the greens, water, and a teaspoon of baking soda to a bowl, let them soak, drain in a strainer, rinse, then pat leaves with a clean, kitchen towel.

 

For mushrooms, gently wipe with a damp towel. However, to clean mushrooms thoroughly, you can gently scrub mushrooms using a mushroom brush, and then rinse them quickly under running water. It’s not a good idea to soak mushrooms because they will absorb water, which will make them spoil faster. Once they are clean, blot dry with a kitchen towel.

 

For other veggies & smooth-skinned fruits, use a baking soda solution to clean more effectively. First, fill a large bowl with water and add a teaspoon of baking soda. Add the produce. Soak for a minute or two. And finally, rinse off the veggies. For produce with bumpy, tightly-packed head like cauliflower and broccoli, a baking soda bath is especially needed to remove the contaminants from the nooks and crannies.

 

For bunched produce like grapes, rinse under cold running water, rubbing them gently as you rinse them off. Then, soak in a baking soda bath for a minute or two, rinse and pat dry.

 

For berries, rinse under cold water in a mesh strainer, then gently pat dry with a clean kitchen towel just before you eat them.

 

6. Cut away the damaged and bruised areas of the produce before preparing or eating.

 

7. Dry produce with a clean kitchen towel to get rid of any remaining bacteria.

 

8. Keep your clean, ready-to-serve produce away from raw eggs, meats, poultry, or seafood because they may be contaminated with bacteria. Remember to store perishable produce in the refrigerator at 4°C or below. If you’re not planning to use them immediately, refrigerate all cut produce within two hours.