It is amazing just how many people actually touch the produce at the super market before you purchase it. Here are some cleaning guidelines that will help make sure your produce is free of contamination.
Do you realize how many hands have touched your fruits and vegetables? Dr. Oz, renowned heart surgeon and TV host revealed on one of his recent TV series on “protecting yourself against supermarket contamination,” that the produce you buy at the supermarket has been “handled” by more than 100 people, 100 different hands!
Just this bit of information alone is enough to raise concern about the level of contamination our produce is exposed to.
It is important to realize that the following cleaning/sensitization suggestion holds true whether you’ll be using your produce for juicing or eating it whole. It does not take additional time but the health benefits are staggering.
Susan Sumner, a food scientist at Virginia at Polytechnic Institute and State University, recommends that to clean fruits and vegetables the very method is to use a disinfecting procedure that uses white vinegar or cider vinegar and three percent hydrogen peroxide. Both are nontoxic, cheap and work not only on fruit and vegetables but can be used to effectively sanitize counters and prep surfaces, including wooden or plastic cutting boards.
Here’s one method
#1 – Put the vinegar and hydrogen peroxide into individual dark colored spray bottles.
#2 – Spray your fruits and vegetables or work surface thoroughly first with vinegar and then hydrogen peroxide.
#3 – Finally, rinse the produce under running water or wipe the surface with a clean wet sponge.
One more method
This cleaning recipe is safe and cheap, and made from items that are probably already in your kitchen. It is a diluted form of hydrochloric acid to wash off pesticides:
#1 – Fill the sink with cold water.
#2 – Combine 4 tablespoons of salt and the juice of 1/2 a fresh lemon.
#3 – Soak fruits and vegetables 5 to 10 minutes (leafy greens 2 to 3 minutes and berries 1 to 2 minutes)
#4 – Rinse produce thoroughly before use.
