Washing Fruits and Vegetables

As you likely know, washing fruits and vegetables is extremely important. To keep your family’s fruits and vegetables safe to eat, you need to wash all skinned fruits and vegetables thoroughly. Even if there are no visible signs of decay on the skin, bacteria and other microorganisms can be present.  Perhaps even more harmful is the high amount of pesticides on the skin. Once consumed, the bacteria could cause illness, and exposure to pesticides over time may lead to an increased chance of cancer in cells. Besides washing fruit and vegetables, it is also a good idea to wash your hands before and after preparing food.

The Perfect Rinse

Washing fruits and vegetables with tap water is not an effective way to remove chemicals like pesticides, nor is it effective at killing bacteria.  In addition, there are many chemicals like chlorine and fluoride in your tap water. The goal of washing fruits and vegetables is to remove organisms such as bacteria, soil, and pesticide and chemical residue.  Did you know that washing and soaking your fruits and vegetables and even rinsing your meats in acidic ionized water is far superior to using tap water or purely filtered water?  Acidic ionized water has a very low pH–about 3.0 and a high positive Oxidation Reduction Potential (ORP) of about +600.  The reduced pH and high ORP strip away chemicals like pesticides on the skin while the high level of positive ORP strips electrons from the cell walls of microorganisms, destroying their cell walls and effectively killing these microorganisms.  If this information is new to you I advise you to review the health benefits of washing food with bawell acidic ionized water.

Do Organic Fruits Need Washing?

All fruits and vegetables need to be washed thoroughly. Even if the fruit isn’t grown with pesticides, people have surely been touching the produce from the farm all the way to the supermarket. It is safer to use the methods outlined above to clean produce, even if it is organic.

Although organically-grown salad mixes in a bag are often pre-washed, you should still wash the greens at your house. There is no guarantee that the produce is getting washed to correct standards, and doing your own washing will leave you with little doubt. Washing fruits and vegetables takes only seconds, and the benefits outweigh the rewards.

Additional Measures

It is possible with a bawell water ionizer machine to make sure your fruits and vegetables are always clean. The ionzer is capable of creating acidic water which acts as a natural astringent on surfaces. Without chemicals, and only water, the ionizer is able to kill bacteria and microorganisms on any surface. If you really want to take an extra step in cleaning your produce, look into acquiring one of these machines.