# I rarely wash fruits and veggies before consuming them. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 25, 2010, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-rarely-wash-fruits-and-veggies-before-consuming-them/537331 "2010-04-25T20:34:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-rarely-wash-fruits-and-veggies-before-consuming-them/537331/1 "2010-04-25T20:34:07Z")
Really, I only wash potatoes, mushrooms and anything that’s fresh out of the garden. Never have, probably never will and have never suffered any ill effects. What’s the big deal? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-rarely-wash-fruits-and-veggies-before-consuming-them/537331/2 "2010-04-25T20:46:57Z")
Mice pee to start with. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-rarely-wash-fruits-and-veggies-before-consuming-them/537331/3 "2010-04-25T20:55:18Z")
Small children in grocery carts sticking their fingers up their noses and then on EVERYTHING. Seriously, I washed my fruits and veggies before I saw that, but I really do afterwards. ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-rarely-wash-fruits-and-veggies-before-consuming-them/537331/4 "2010-04-25T21:12:59Z")
Oh, I agree; and I know I’m going to get a lot of these types of replies. I’m just saying, I’ve been this way for a good 26 years and haven’t been a victim of any ill effects. I mean, if there is obvious dirt on something, I’ll clean it off, but otherwise…not going to bother with it (unless someone is watching, of course! 😉 ) ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-rarely-wash-fruits-and-veggies-before-consuming-them/537331/5 "2010-04-25T21:13:51Z")
I eat beans, snow peas, and tomatoes right off the vine, but not from supermarkets. My older son used to sit in the garden and eat sorrel. Must have an oxalic acid deficiency. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-rarely-wash-fruits-and-veggies-before-consuming-them/537331/6 "2010-04-25T21:28:01Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > Mice pee to start with. It is surprising how common this justification is, especially if you include “dog” or other animal along with “mice.” It doesn’t really hold up logically: what, a quick rinse under the tap is going to remove this animal urine, which is somehow toxic? I only wash a few things, where there is sometimes actual dirt. I never wash carrots (since I peel them) or apples or pears. I have not suffered any ill effects, either. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-rarely-wash-fruits-and-veggies-before-consuming-them/537331/7 "2010-04-25T21:30:07Z")
Washing the pesticides off was what my Momma taught me. ---
**Author:** ![NOLA\_Cajun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ea666f/32.png) [@NOLA\_Cajun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NOLA_Cajun)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-rarely-wash-fruits-and-veggies-before-consuming-them/537331/8 "2010-04-25T21:40:04Z")
blah blah blah… and my “washing” includes turning on the faucet and rubiing the offending party under the running water whilst rubbing briskly with my hands (god only knows where those have been) and voila my food is “clean”. I guess the biggest part of this is: where did it come from? have mexicans been shitting in the field while picking my food? is there ddt on it? does my salad spinner really get all the moisture and germs off? why is algae green? and don’t give me that “photosynthesis” crap! And what the hell ever happened to those fruit and vegetable cleaning solutions? they really gave me a warm fuzzy feeling damnit! Irradiation anyone? ---
**Author:** ![janeslogin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@janeslogin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janeslogin)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-rarely-wash-fruits-and-veggies-before-consuming-them/537331/9 "2010-04-25T21:48:23Z")
Some of us older curmudgeons have joked about the washing of root vegetables when we were kids. We would be sent to the garden to harvest carrots for dinner. We would wipe some of the dirt off a fine carrot and eat it in the garden while gathering other vegetables. But once the carrot was inside the kitchen it was insisted that it must be washed and peeled. Why? A dozen 70 year old persons I have talked to know of the experience but don’t know why a it is alright to eat a dirty carrot in the garden but not in the house. I started a thread about this once on [Gardenweb.com](http://Gardenweb.com). Some younger persons are familiar with the curiosity. ---
**Author:** ![lazybratsche](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ba8739/32.png) [@lazybratsche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lazybratsche)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-rarely-wash-fruits-and-veggies-before-consuming-them/537331/10 "2010-04-25T21:52:57Z")
Why is everyone so convinced that rinsing with water isn’t good enough to “clean” things? Water is a damn good solvent, and all of the pesticides and fertilizers that might be a problem on your produce are nicely water soluble – that’s how most of the potential hazards got on your produce in the first place. The big risks are some sort of pathogen – a nasty e. coli strain from the fertilizer or a field worker with poor hygiene. Also, some pesticides can be hazardous to humans. A water rinse will remove most of all those. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-rarely-wash-fruits-and-veggies-before-consuming-them/537331/11 "2010-04-25T22:02:01Z")
> [@janeslogin](#): > > …why a it is alright to eat a dirty carrot in the garden but not in the house. Because you can’t wash it in the garden. Once you’re inside, there’s no reason not to. In general I don’t think you’ll come to harm eating an unwashed vegetable from time to time. (Produce from home gardens is nearly always going to be cleaner than anything in a store, anyway.) And of course _some_ produce is going to have pesticide residue that a kitchen sink rinse won’t readily remove (not all, but some pesticides are specifically formulated to _not_ be water soluble, so they don’t come off in every little rain). But if it’s a choice between eating a lot of vegetables with the occasional trace of pesticide–versus not eating a lot of vegetables–you’re better off eating the vegetables. Buy organic if you can, but if you’re concerned about chemicals in your food, you’ll be making much more progress to get smart about the sources of your [meat and dairy](http://blog.greensburymarket.com/uncategorized/how-chemicals-in-the-meat-you-eat-can-hurt-you/), rather than produce. ---
**Author:** ![Jormungandr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@Jormungandr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jormungandr)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-rarely-wash-fruits-and-veggies-before-consuming-them/537331/12 "2010-04-25T22:03:23Z")
I’ll eat chili peppers and oranges from my father’s garden right off the plant or tree. However, I’ll wash any carrot or spinach from it because he uses cow manure as fertilizer. I don’t know if it “cleans” it, but it puts my mind at ease if I can get that off. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAlecCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/67e7ee/32.png) [@SmartAlecCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAlecCat)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-rarely-wash-fruits-and-veggies-before-consuming-them/537331/13 "2010-04-25T23:13:30Z")
The solution to pollution is dilution. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-rarely-wash-fruits-and-veggies-before-consuming-them/537331/14 "2010-04-25T23:24:37Z")
> [@SmartAlecCat](#): > > The solution to pollution is dilution. Thank you for your contribution. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-rarely-wash-fruits-and-veggies-before-consuming-them/537331/15 "2010-04-26T00:42:17Z")
I never minded dirt so much when I was growing up. Fertilizer, including DDT, insecticides, cow manure and horse manure, I would stay away from. Good grief. If you’ve eaten contaminated supermarket veggies and you’ve never had a tummyache in your entire life, you need to notify a hospital doing research. You are a miracle of immunity! At the moment I won’t even buy lettuce off the shelf. If you want to put yourself at risk, fine. Putting your guests at risk without their knowledge is unconscionable. ---
**Author:** ![TimeWinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@TimeWinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimeWinder)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-rarely-wash-fruits-and-veggies-before-consuming-them/537331/16 "2010-04-26T01:58:22Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > Washing the pesticides off was what my Momma taught me. You hear this a lot, but pesticides are a risk for the farmer, not the consumer. I can’t find a reliable cite of _anyone_ ever dying or becoming ill from pesticides on their food (as opposed to direct contact with the pesticide source itself in large volume). [QUOTE=spark240] Buy organic if you can, but if you’re concerned about chemicals in your food, you’ll be making much more progress to get smart about the sources of your meat and dairy, rather than produce. [/QUOTE] All food is made up of chemicals, and organic food [is not pesticide-free](http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/organic.html), nor are most of the claims made about it true (same link). ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-rarely-wash-fruits-and-veggies-before-consuming-them/537331/17 "2010-04-26T03:36:02Z")
Yeah, well, I don’t wash supermarket produce either and I’m 63. So I guess I am also a freak of nature and a miracle? I guess I have not poisoned any of my guests either. Must be even more of a miracle. ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-rarely-wash-fruits-and-veggies-before-consuming-them/537331/18 "2010-04-26T03:58:26Z")
> [@kayT](#): > > Yeah, well, I don’t wash supermarket produce either and I’m 63. So I guess I am also a freak of nature and a miracle? I guess I have not poisoned any of my guests either. Must be even more of a miracle. :)😉 We should start a club! Let’s not wash our hands, either…and THEN eat unwashed produce. ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-rarely-wash-fruits-and-veggies-before-consuming-them/537331/19 "2010-04-26T04:00:36Z")
I never used to wash most produce but a few months ago was in the grocery store watching as a mother totally ignored her obviously ill child standing in front of the grapes (GRAPES!!) sneezing, coughing and spraying. Now I wash them when I think of it. Still nowhere near 100% but I’m a little more diligent. In general I think living in a glass bubble is as bad for your health as snacking on whatever might be left on your fruits and vegetables so as long as you’re comfortable - go for it. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-rarely-wash-fruits-and-veggies-before-consuming-them/537331/20 "2010-04-26T04:45:01Z")
> [@TimeWinder](#): > > You hear this a lot, but pesticides are a risk for the farmer, not the consumer. I can’t find a reliable cite of _anyone_ ever dying or becoming ill from pesticides on their food (as opposed to direct contact with the pesticide source itself in large volume). > > All food is made up of chemicals, and organic food [is not pesticide-free](http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/organic.html), nor are most of the claims made about it true (same link). The second point first. Most of us understand that when the average person uses the word “chemicals” they are referring to chemicals other than those naturally within the food. No need to act dense. Backtracking to the first point. In 1996 the [Food Quality Protection Act](http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/regulating/laws/fqpa/backgrnd.htm) was passed which actually did reduce the risks associated with cumulative pesticide exposures by consumers, but back when I was a kid that law didn’t exist. My Mom was ahead of her time. Currently there is much less on most foods but some still have enough that washing it off seems prudent, given how easy it is to do. Your individual risk is perhaps not huge but it does add up population wide. Besides the pesticides there are real [dangers](http://origin-www.fsis.usda.gov/orlando2002/presentations/aliang/aliang_text.htm) associated with food-borne pathogens. > [@](#): > > Burden of Foodborne Disease, 21st Century > > Estimated 76 million cases resulting in 323,000 hospitalization & 5000 deaths each year in the U.S. > > 1 in 4 Americans will develop a foodborne illness; 1 in 1000 will be hospitalized > > Cost: an estimated $6.5 billion per year > ~CDC Annual budget Washing fruits and vegetables won’t stop them all, not by a long shot, but it is a simple and effective means of reducing them some. Effective enough that [the USDA advises it](http://origin-www.fsis.usda.gov/Fact_Sheets/Does_Washing_Food_Promote_Food_Safety/index.asp). > [@](#): > > Washing Produce > Before eating or preparing, wash fresh produce under cold running tap water to remove any lingering dirt. This reduces bacteria that may be present. If there is a firm surface, such as on apples or potatoes, the surface can be scrubbed with a brush. Consumers should not wash fruits and vegetables with detergent or soap. These products are not approved or labeled by the Food and Drug Administration for use on foods. You could ingest residues from soap or detergent absorbed on the produce. > > When preparing fruits and vegetables, cut away any damaged or bruised areas because bacteria that cause illness can thrive in those places. Immediately refrigerate any fresh-cut items such as salad or fruit for best quality and food safety. The fact that it has never caused you any harm that you know of is supposed to be significant somehow? A large number of people smoke cigarettes without it killing them; many don’t wear their seat belts and have never died or been brain damaged in a car accident. I still think avoiding smoking and wearing seat belts are good ideas even in the face of those individuals “witnessing.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-rarely-wash-fruits-and-veggies-before-consuming-them/537331.md?page=2)