I picked apples for a month in Northern Italy during the early nineties. The orchards were sprayed with pesticide twice a week which covered the trees completely. My eyes and nose were running constantly and had to wear gloves to pick the fruit
Washing fruit and veg is now second nature!

You really believe we are sold chemically free fruit and veg??

No just not harmful.

Thanks for the American article on american food.

Deep fry, it’s the only way to be certain.

@Jamie: you should probably mention the vaguely relevant thing too then when you do. Otherwise you get really helpful people wasting their valuable time having to flag it up.

Do get any (so called fresh) fruit and veg from the US. Nowt has changed in three years. Most of the UK “fresh” food is sourced from outside the UK, how does it get to your supermarket looking so good?

This happened just along the road from me… Think I’ll start washing veg now :/
yikes

Do get any (so called fresh) fruit and veg from the US. Nowt has changed in three years. Most of the UK “fresh” food is sourced from outside the UK, how does it get to your supermarket looking so good?

They invented a thing called a fridge not sure it was in the last 3 years though, they also pick it before it’s ripe and then there’s the packing in nitrogen.

Yes Drac of course they do and fridges are specifically designed to neutralise pesticide residues. Seriously though given the possibilities of contamination on the farm and the extended supply chain, a bit of a wash is a good idea.

I only wash bananas and oranges.

think I read somewhere that salad bags cause a significant proportion of food poisoning.

I think I read somewhere that they don’t.

Hope that helps.

how does it get to your supermarket looking so good?

Other than the perfectly good reasons above, there are also specifically selected varieties that are designed to travel well, that way they don’t ripen fully before they are ready to be sold.

(It’s why you can only buy one variety of banana in the UK. Saw it on TV last night)

Seriously though given the possibilities of contamination on the farm and the extended supply chain, a bit of a wash is a good idea.

They’re washed before packing too and it’s more than a bit of a wash, a bit of a wash at home isn’t going to remove the pesticide if it’s been through all that packing process.

Wasn’t there some seroius bean sprout poisoning recently?

I don’t really bother unless it’s got soil on.

Did see someone sneeze into hand, than start choosing apples in local supermarket once. But I’m still too lazy to bother.

Wasn’t there some seroius bean sprout poisoning recently?

There was some bacterial problem last year but you can only guess if people washed before eating or not.

We don’t wax fruit and veg here either. They do in the US, it’s really obvious, the apples look like snooker balls.

Yes – always wash for pesticide/ fertiliser reasons if bought from a supermarket and to get the mud/ animals off if from ours or someone elses garden.

Lettuce’s get soaked in salted water – makes the slugs die and float to the top. Always something amusing about that for some reason… 🙂

I get my veg from the allotment, I have to wash it. My wife had a fit when I was preparing the Brussels and she saw how many creepy crawlies came off it.

I picked apples for a month in Northern Italy during the early nineties. The orchards were sprayed with pesticide twice a week which covered the trees completely. My eyes and nose were running constantly and had to wear gloves to pick the fruit
Washing fruit and veg is now second nature!

I worked in a fruit growing area of NSW and the fruit all around was sprayed with all sorts of stuff, whether early on or at time of/after picking. Doubt all of it would have been absorbed by the time it gets to consumer – so worth a quick wash imvho.

I just stick all my fruit and veg in the dishwasher on a rinse cycle as soon as I get back from the supermarket.
Saves any worry.

No, I can’t be arsed. I very rarely get ill, so I can only deduce that this has given me a superhuman immune system.

No, I can’t be arsed. I very rarely get ill, so I can only deduce that this has given me a superhuman immune system.

See potential alternative superbug/exploding scenario above.

I’ve just eaten a salad, didn’t wash any of it. If I don’t report back later today I’d start washing. Happy to be of service.

I wash my plums.

Well it’s not looking good for Prawny.

I’m still here!!!! Just prepped another one, no washing, nails me.

God knows where the last two days went mind.

Zombieeeeeee!