A new survey, designed to promote best practices for consumers, has highlighted the issue of washing produce,. The analysis sis U.S.-centric, although the issues permeate to people worldwide.
The research reveals the states in the U.S. that wash their vegetables the least, with the inference that not doing so increases the risk of ingesting pesticides or falling foul to a bacterial infection.
The states that wash their vegetables the least were identified as:
#1 Kansas
#2 Tennessee
#3 Indiana
#4 Idaho
#5 Minnesota
In addition to the lack of washing, the rinsing practices of some households is only to splash a few drops of water onto the produce. This is invariably ineffective. Also, it is not advisable to wash fruits and vegetables with soap, detergent, or commercial produce wash. This is because produce is porous and detergents pose a health risk.
It is important to wash or scrub fruits and vegetables under running water. This is the case even if there is no plan to eat the peel. Microorganisms on the peel can get inside fruits and vegetables when they are cut.
Furthermore, washing and soaking can only lead to a certain degree of reduction in pesticide residue level.
The survey probed deeper into vegetable washing habits and found that a very low proportion of people -just 17 percent – only elect to wash their produce when it is visibly dirty, thereby displaying a lack of awareness of the ‘micro’ aspect of microbiology.
There are variable habits within the washing or not washing approach, and one of these depends on the presence of others. The majority (at 55 percent) revealed they are more likely to wash their produce when serving food to others, although they would not necessarily repeat this process if they were only preparing produce for themselves.
However, at the same time, when questioned, 60 percent of people stated they would be upset if they knew someone served them unwashed produce, such as in someone else’s home or at a restaurant.
When asked, a proportion of people would actually confront someone they witnessed not washing produce. Here, those who follow a vegetarian diet are most likely to lead this charge, with 46 percent of vegetarians saying they would have few qualms about confronting someone they witnessed not washing produce. In terms of dietary habits, the survey also established that citizens who follow a plant-based diet are more likely to wash their produce compared with omnivores.
