Why should you wash your fruit and vegetables?

We are now, more than ever, eating our fruit and vegetables raw, fresh-cut or minimally processed. We start our day with freshly chopped fruit salad, enjoy a green salad for lunch, load up on vegetables for dinner and munch on raw celery sticks, carrots and apples as snacks. We might be healthy, but is it really clean? It’s time to stop and think about what’s on our fresh produce.

Washing fruit and vegetables is one of the most important processing steps at an industrial level. Washing is designed to remove dirt, dust and some pesticides, and to detach bugs. Just  imagine how many hands it has passed since this initial washing!

Fresh fruits and vegetables can harbour disease-causing bugs (known as pathogens) such as Salmonella, Campylobacter, Listeria, and Shig-toxin producing E.coli. They can also contain pesticide, residues and toxic compounds produced by moulds on the surface or even inside tissues of these foods.

They may also contain allergens, which may be naturally occurring or contaminated, that can cause severe discomfort to people suffering from an intolerance. Of the potential risks, contamination with tiny bugs or organisms, called microbes, is the most prevalent.

The ingestion of small numbers of dangerous bugs may not be harmful as our immune system can fight them off. But problems begin when the body’s defences fail, causing these ‘bad bugs’ to multiply and spread throughout the body.

In recent years, fruits and vegetables such as sprouts, celery and rockmelons were identified as potential sources of foodborne pathogens. They are most susceptible to being contaminated. This has caused a number of health and social issues and major economic losses worldwide. Whilst Australia is considered one of the safest food suppliers in the world, a significant number of foodborne illnesses are still reported every year.

Need a safe way to remove dirt, grime and other contaminants from your fruit and vegetables? We’ve got the solution, a plant-based solution.

Our Fruit and Veg Wash’s fragrance free surfactant helps emulsify and disperse waxes and emollients,(that are not water based) that coat fruit and vegetables — just using water won’t cut it! You need something that has an action that will help get rid of the build-up of human contact too, hence the detergent aspect of washes.

Our 500ml enviroClean Fruit & Veg Wash will last over 200 washes and a 200ml will get you through 80. Both efficient and economical!

TO WASH
In a sink of cold water add 2-3 drops of Fruit & Veg wash, add the vegetables or fruit and push up and down in the water. If you are washing berries or lettuce or other loose leaf or small fruit or veg, use a colander to put them in, then dunk up and down. Do not soak. Drain the items and then pat dry with a tea towel and then store in brown paper or paper towel.

TIPS
Handy tips to make sure you get the best of our your produce:

• After they have been washed, pat dry, wrap or store in brown paper bag or paper towel
• Store produce according to its requirements in your fridge or cupboard
• Never buy produce that looks spoiled
• Wash all produce that can be washed
• Buy fresh produce less often and smaller quantities so you waste less