The question “What is the best way to wash my fruits and vegetables?” is one of the most frequently asked questions that I receive. People want to know the most effective method for washing produce, while maintaining food safety and the integrity of the product being washed.
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How to Wash Fruits and Vegetables
The FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) recommends washing fruits and vegetables with potable (drinkable) water. (They do not encourage the use of any other additive, such as soap, a produce rinse, vinegar, salt or any of the other methods that are proposed online.) Along with that, they suggest either:
- Rubbing the produce between your hands while you wash it
- Using a brush to wash the firmer fruits and vegetables
Do You Need to Use Soap to Wash Fruits and Vegetables?
No. Soap, detergent, produce wash, vinegar or any other cleaning method is not necessary and has not proven a higher success rate than just using plain, potable water.
In a research study performed by the University of Maine, they compared the use of a common detergent to that of using potable water to clean fruits and vegetables and found that the results were comparable, so there is no need to use the extra detergent to clean your produce at home. You can learn more about the specifics of their study in the video below.
If you are wondering about how produce is washed before it reaches the grocery store, anti-microbials are used at the facility level (packinghouse/processing operations). They are used in these cases to balance out the soil and field debris levels in the wash water from all of the harvested product brought in from the field. You can read more on this HERE.
How to Wash Different Types of Fruits and Vegetables?
The washing method should differ a bit depending on the fruit and vegetable that are being washed. Some examples include:
- Berries – When you buy them in clamshells, you can wash them directly in the clamshells by pouring water over the berries and the water will drain out the holes in the bottom of the clamshell. If not, you can use a colander or just put a few in your hands and place them under running water.
- Stone/Pome Fruit – This includes whole pieces of fruit, such as apples, peaches and plums. These items can be placed under running water and just rubbed a bit with your hand to be cleaned. Something to consider with these pieces of fruit is that most of them have been washed (and sometimes waxed) during the packing process, so it is not like they are coming straight from the field. You can see this previous post on stone fruit harvesting and packing to see the process these fruit go through.
- Heads of Lettuce – Remove the outer leaves before washing. You can either wash the different leaves individually or cut them into chunks and let them soak a little bit. If you are preparing a salad and wash more than you will use at that time, you need to make sure to dry the lettuce before storing it.
- Potatoes – Potatoes need to be cleaned with potable water as well, but they should also be scrubbed clean with some sort of scrub brush before cooking. This same concept goes for melons too.
- Avocados – Based on a recent study performed by the FDA that was done to test for pathogens on avocado skins, it is now being recommended that you wash the exterior of your avocado prior to cutting into it.
- Pre-Washed Salad Mixes – These are typically labeled as “triple-washed” or something of that sort. In this case, these mixes have been washed three times before being packed and shipped to the grocery store, and it is not necessary for you to re-wash the lettuce and other vegetables included in the mix.
When to Wash Fruits and Vegetables?
The best time to wash fruits and vegetables is right before you are going to eat them. If you wash produce ahead of time, you are removing their outer cuticle layer (natural wax layer) that will cause them to lose water faster while being stored after washing. This is particularly obvious in berries that are washed prior to consumption and is the reason why berries do not go through any washing steps prior to reaching the grocery store, because it will have a direct negative result on the shelf-life of the berries.
One type of fruit that I would say to make an exception to this rule is with cherries. Cherries are sold in bags, or even bulk bins that you select from, depending on how your grocery store/produce market is set up. A problem with this is that once one cherry starts to have any pathogenic growth (we have probably all seen what a “bad” cherry looks like). One bad cherry spreads quickly to the rest of the bag, and with the high cost of cherries, we cannot afford for multiple cherries per bag to go bad. So, I recommend taking them out of the bag and washing them once you get home from the grocery store.
How to Store Fruits and Vegetables After Washing Them?
Whether you are washing whole fruit and vegetables to eat them later or to cut them into your meal prep (e.g., salad mix), they need to go into the refrigerator. They will last longer this way, and this will help to prevent any pathogenic growth/spread. When it comes to any produce item that has been cut, they should be placed into the refrigerator as soon as possible and only taken out to spoon out more of the mixture to eat and then placed back inside the refrigerator.
If you are planning on freezing the produce, you should wash and cut the fruits and vegetables and then place them into freezer bags. The only exception for that is if you are freezing bananas, then you just need to remove the peel and place them into the freezer bags.
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