I wonder if there is any scientific study of what actual benefit there is to washing fruit.
My mother washed everything, but we have also gotten lazy, and don’t typically wash berries, because we don’t like them wet, either. We wash apples, pears, and grapes. I recently stopped washing oranges. It seems like a waste of water.
I use my salad spinner. One drop of Dawn and some water; swish the berries; rinse in the colander well; then spin.
I always rinse everything before eating it. So, on the one hand I am very fastidious about thoroughly rinsing every fruit (except a banana or a peeled citrus fruit) but I will admit there may be a limited benefit to rinsing without soap and/or scrubbing. At least I am rinsing the poop off.
I can’t even begin to imagine not rinsing fruit & vegetables before eating them. You think the supermarket stockers have immaculate hands?
I not only wash fruit I plan on eating with the skin on (apples, grapes, berries, etc) but also anything I plan to draw a knife through. I do not want to draw “stuff” from outside to the inside with a knife. I use dish detergent and water.
Is this really a serious question? Haven’t you ever seen people handling the fruit at the grocery store? People touch fruit all the time, then set it back down before they try another one. They rubbed their noses beforehand, or went to the bathroom and didn’t wash their hands afterward, etc.
The thought of eating unwashed fruit: gross.
How much dish detergent is it OK to consume?
I switched my dish detergent to something organic hoping its residue would be less harmful. I also try to use only a small amount and rinse thoroughly.
Here’s one, if you want to get technical. http://umaine.edu/publications/4336e/ The video says no dish soap.
I’m nowhere near that cautious.
Hmmm. Here’s one in which the expert tells you to wash produce, but says that the risk from failing to do so is “minimal.” So what’s the actual risk? http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/5153554.stm
So is washing fruit before eating like putting on your seatbelt, or is it like wearing a crash helmet and body armor every time you drive your car?
I love large carrots roasted and baked in the oven. I also give the big ones to the dog. He thinks they are bones.
I was thinking about the transferring of bacteria the other day while I was taking the skin off a cucumber.( needed for a party). I washed them in lightly soapy water,rinsed them, peeled them and then sliced them.
It bothers me that so many people have gotten deathly ill from bacteria from cucumbers, melons and bagged (washed) salad greens that I really don’t buy them anymore at all.
I also have gotten intestinal issues from salad bars. I know I have a problem with the stuff they wash the produce in. Ugh. It took me almost a year to figure that one out.
I am also deathly allergic to whatever is on the skin of apples. Immediate swelling of mouth and tongue.
What the heck are they doing to healthy food?
I am not a picky eater, not the “cleanest” food preparer on the face of the earth and don’t get sick easy so it is pretty bothersome.
Of course you should wash fruit, especially melons. Am I the only one who remembers the salmonella outbreak in 2012 associated with cantaloupes from Indiana? People died from that outbreak.
It’s not just produce from other countries you should worry about, and organic food sold in this country can be contaminated by salmonella and e. coli.
Do you wash carrots before giving them to the dog? Look, of course people will ‘touch’ some of the fruit you buy. They will not touch every grape or berry. Plus, they touch every doorknob, piece of mail, dollar bill, etc. You can’t avoid it.
I always wash cucumbers, because for some reason they feel gross. Do they wax them?
I won’t even ask how often you change out the sponges/rags/towels in your kitchen… 
A lot of cukes are waxed. That’s why I peel them these days or I buy the english cukes.
Trader Joes’ sells a fruit and vegetable wash. Definitely wash all fruits and vegetables.
Would you eat dirt if you knew it wouldn’t make you sick? That’s what you are doing if you don’t wash your fruit. Even if it’s not contaminated with a dangerous microorganism, I don’t want to eat dirty fruit. Why would anyone? It’s no huge chore to wash fruit.
Well, it could be an enormous waste of water to wash all that fruit, if the risk is really small. Personally, I’m not too concerned about eating dirt (or even insect parts) if it isn’t risky.
My dog gets prescription kibble. No carrots for him. But yeah, I’d wash the carrots first.
I rented a room in an apartment from a couple in Paris right after I graduated from college. They fed their dog cooked carrots and beef chunks in brown rice every day. That dog ate better than I did much of the time!
No, I don’t wash the carrots for the dog. I figure I pour pesticide onto his body once a month to absorb into his bloodstream with the flea and tick killer…so I’m already doing the poor guy in.
Who didn’t eat dirt, in some form, through some mechanism - big brother, his best friend, slips in the mud - when they were a kid? I intentionally swallowed some dirt and some apple seeds, waiting to see what would happen.
Who didn’t lick the spoon that stirred the cake batter? And I’m talking cake mix with eggs, thank you.
Can anyone tell me the displeasure of eating wet berries? I like the cool wet that falls from a blackberry or raspberry when I’m eating it; the dry surface of the berries actually bother me, though I love the sweet reveal once it is smashed in my mouth.
Not knocking the rinsing, washing, and wiping of the fruit, or the changing of the dish towels and dry towels (please, God, please), as I do each to varying degrees, but you guys are killing me.
Besides, I’ve got two boys I birthed and one I married, and believe me, all bets are off when it comes to knowing how those guys make it through unscathed.