Wash your fruits and Veggies? Pacifica Nutrition advice
Q: Do I really need to wash my fruits and vegetables before eating them?
A: ABSOLUTELY, YES!
EVEN BEFORE THE SHUTDOWN SITUATION
When you’re busy it can be tempting to skip washing your produce but it’s definitely worth the time and energy – especially when you think of all the food-borne illness outbreaks linked to produce over the past several years!
Here are some tips to streamline the process:
1. Wash your hands before and after washing the produce. This will help protect you (and your food) from any cross-contamination.
2. Wash your produce just before you use it. Storing damp produce encourages more bacterial growth.
3. Tap or distilled water is all you need – no special soaps or other products!
4. Scrub root veggies (carrots, potatoes, etc.) with a brush to rid them of stubborn dirt/bacteria.
5. No, you probably don’t need to wash your pre washed lettuce! Experts say if bacteria can survive industrial cleaning, it likely will survive your efforts too.
6. When you’re done, gently dry or blot your produce with a paper towel. Research shows this also helps remove more bacteria.
7. Prepare your produce and enjoy!
REFERENCE:
www.washingtonpost.com/news/voraciously/wp/2019/05/31/yes-you-need-to-wash-your-produce-heres-how/
