Prairie Fare: Do You Know the Six Steps to Fruit and Vegetable Safety?

By Julie Garden-Robinson

“What’s the best way to clean fresh produce?” someone asked. “I’ve heard that strawberries are especially a problem.”

“We recommend using plenty of running water and a vegetable brush on firmer-skinned produce. Also, avoid cross-contamination,” I replied.

“I just read something about using baking soda and water, and I’ll send you the link,” she continued.

She was right about another method. If you are looking to remove pesticides from produce, consider the results of a study performed at the University of Massachusetts and published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry in 2017. The researchers found an easy way to remove a specific type of pesticide from apples using a common ingredient in our cupboards.

Soaking apples in a 1% solution of baking soda in water for about 15 minutes removed more than 96% of a particular pesticide from apples in a well-controlled lab setting. That’s about 1 teaspoon of baking soda for every 2 cups of water. Be sure to rinse the produce well under cool running water after the soaking process.

You can also peel the apples, but you are losing the valuable fiber in the skin and the nutrients right under the skin.

Although we often hear about the annual “dirty dozen” fruit and vegetable list based on pesticide residues, bacteria are more likely to cause serious illness and death.