Cleaning Food

[KimberlyP]

How can I clean my fresh fruits and vegitables to make sure things like e-coli and such are off? I just don't feel like running them under water is cleaning them good enough. I used to actually take dish soup and wash off my potatos, carrotts and apples etc but I found out that the food will actually suck in the chemicals. Then I read that one part distilled vinegar to three parts water with mild scrubbing will do the trick but I still don't feel safe. I really want to encorporate fresh food into my diet but with everyday the news saying that another fruit or veggie has been contaminated with something I am so scared.

Thanks!

[Elski]

double post.

[Elski]

You can use sterilising solution, like you'd use to sterilise baby bottles etc. I'm not sure what it's called in the States, but in the UK the popular brand is Milton. When I first bought it to sterilise my daughters things, I noticed that the instructions said you can add a small amount to a bowl of cold water and can pop fruit/veg in for 15 mins to get rid of any nasties. I don't personally do this as I feel a good rinse under the tap will suffice but it's certainly an option for you.

[Denglish81]

There are products made for washing your produce. In both a spray and a soak. I have also read that spraying with peroxide, then vinegar, then rinsing will do the trick as well.

[laitka]

To make your vinegar solution more effective add salt. From memory there was a study on the salt & vinegar method and it kills like 99% of germs or something (incl. e.coli etc).

And agree with trying a soak first and then a good scrub and very thorough rinse.

[hairyfairy]

I normally scrub any fruit or veg that I eat raw with washing up liquid, or soak them in water for a while to which a small amount of bleach has been added, then I rinse very thoughroly to make sure all the cleaning stuff is gone before I eat them.