How to Remove Pesticides from Produce
The biggest concern when buying non organic produce is how to remove the pesticides. While organic fruit is preferred, not everyone can afford to purchase organic fruit 100% of the time. With a few ordinary household ingredients, consumers can effectively remove most of the pesticides and bacteria from non organic produce.
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Things You'll Need
- Vinegar (white or apple cider vinegar)
- Spray bottle
- Hydrogen Peroxide
- Scrub brush
- Plenty of cold water
Instructions
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Fill the spray bottle with a vinegar/water mixture. Add one part vinegar to 3 parts water.
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2
Spray an ample amount of the vinegar water mixture on the fruit and vegetables to be cleaned. It's best to do this over a sink because it could get very messy.
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3
Wash the fruit thoroughly in cold water to remove all of the vinegar and traces of bacteria and pesticides. Using the vinegar water solution alone is an effective way to remove the majority of the harmful pesticides and bacteria. However, it doesn't stop there.
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Fill a large bowl with cold water and approximately a half cup of hydrogen peroxide. Place the newly washed fruit in the bowl and let it sit for a minute or two.
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Scrub the fruit with the toothbrush. While the fruit is in the bowl, use the toothbrush to scrub the fruit. Be careful when brushing delicate fruit as you don't want to bruise it.
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Rinse the fruit/vegetables thoroughly with cold water.
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Tips & Warnings
You may find that the thoroughly washed produce lasts a little longer than unwashed produce. This is not a scientific fact, just one author's observations.
Unless you have the equipment at home to test and analyze the fruit before and after to see which pesticides and bacteria were on the fruit, you can't be 100% sure that all of the offending chemicals are gone. However, studies have shown that using vinegar in conjunction with hydrogen peroxide is effective for removing unwanted chemicals and bacteria.
Resources
- Photo Credit www.sxc.hu
