Scrubbing Your Fruits and Veggies (MERGED TOPIC)

[PassionateChefsDie]

As far as I can tell and this backs it up no amount of washing will help, though I have seen some mentions of bacterial growth being killed by certain spice oils if iirc Oregano and cinnamon where quite high but you still have..

E. coli doesn’t just sit around on the surface of vegetables, either. The bacteria can also penetrate into the interior tissues of the plant, where no sanitizer can reach them.

source

Then you also have this agreeing even at stupid levels isn't successful

Washing rarely achieves microbial reductions of more than 100-fold even when 100 ppm or more of free chlorine is present

source

Not that I'm trying to deter from the washing, but to me it is just an educated risk just like unpasteurised cheese, raw egg products or raw seafood. To believe washing is going to help in my eyes is to ignore it's highly unlikely to help in the worse cases. As the second link suggests its by the supply chain it will be fixed and not by the consumer at the end. As for the irradiation argument I leave that to others to discuss but for me raw food is an educated risk that I'm happy to live with.

Edited September 30, 2011 by PassionateChefsDie (log)

[Kouign Aman]

Love the new title.

Does anyone's grocery tell them where the melon came from? Mine does not say 'cantaloupe from Mexico', or Colorado, or other point of definable origin.

If I tried your method, andie, I'd be feeding much bigger critters than I already am. The squirrels, chipmunks, possums and raccoons would have a field day. The dog would look on in mild interest.

[qrn]

The latest is the listeria on the colorado cantalope that has killed a bunch of folks,

We were talking about it , and I dont think they are sure where it came from, so I assume that if it was in the soil and came thru the root system that even peeling it would not take care of it..(not sure of that conclusion)however...

Bud

[andiesenji]

Love the new title.

Does anyone's grocery tell them where the melon came from? Mine does not say 'cantaloupe from Mexico', or Colorado, or other point of definable origin.

If I tried your method, andie, I'd be feeding much bigger critters than I already am. The squirrels, chipmunks, possums and raccoons would have a field day. The dog would look on in mild interest.

The ones I buy all have stickers that say: Product of ---- .

I have ground squirrels but a wire basket upside-down over the melons and squash are an easy deterrent.

They are actually less of a nuisance than the ravens.

Edited September 30, 2011 by andiesenji (log)

[Kouign Aman]

I suspect most of the melons at my store do too, but since the melon was bought before the listeria source was identified, I neither read it nor remember it. And sometimes, a melon is naked, having lost its sticker along the way.

I just found it an amusing turn-about.

[Jaymes]

The latest is the listeria on the colorado cantalope that has killed a bunch of folks,

We were talking about it , and I dont think they are sure where it came from, so I assume that if it was in the soil and came thru the root system that even peeling it would not take care of it..(not sure of that conclusion)however...

Bud

You know, I wondered about that, too, and have done a bit of googling, but found no answer.

Not sure if the listeria is in the flesh, or just on the skin.

I've traveled in a great many third-world countries, and even lived in some, where human-waste fertilizer is relatively common. We were always told to soak all of the produce in our kitchen sinks, in a solution of water and bleach. That would make it safe to handle and eat even things like lettuce. And that for fruits and vegetables that you peel (such as papaya, mangoes, pineapple, melons, etc.), the danger would come from handling the unwashed peels. The flesh, we were told, was always safe.

But now I'm curious as to whether or not that was true.

Anyone know?

[Jaymes]

I confess: I wash my fruit pretty thoroughly. That is, I use the same soap that I would put on a sponge to wash my dishes to wash fruit before ingesting. I'll put a drop of Dawn into a bowl, fill it with warm water and throw the cherries and grapes in there.

I never wash any of the fruits and veggies with a dish soap like Dawn. Oh, I have done it a time or two, but really felt like Dawn, etc., wasn't strong enough to kill any of the serious pathogens, like listeria (although I don't know that to be true; anyone know?).

So I didn't think washing them with Dawn was accomplishing much. Except, that is, coating the veggies with the off-putting perfumes that are regularly put into soaps.

I remember I tried it once with a cucumber, and the cucumber just smelled like Dawn.

When I'm in doubt, I soak the veggies in a solution of water and a capful of bleach or hydrogen peroxide.

Would be interested to know if a dish-washing soap like Dawn is capable of killing a serious pathogen.

[nibor]

Here is the link to the CDC listeria prevention page: Click

[dcarch]

I am another lucky one.

I hope people don't start cooking cantalopes.

dcarch

[GlorifiedRice]

People please just go to the Korean Market and get a huge plastic tub they use to salt cabbage in, and wash stuff in that. thats what I do...

[PassionateChefsDie]

Having looked at a few bits no I don't think it can come from the root system but in the earlier site I gave you it will seep into the cut areas and damaged areas. All the stuff I find regardless of pathogen relates to biofilms and surface of product(Creases, wrinkles etc) and prior treatment in affecting the ability to sterilise the food and badly in most bits I've read.

Another one that concurs and concludes vigorous washing can be better than 200 ppm chlorine. WHO paper It goes back to GAP and GMP.

Remember going on wiki it maybe as low as 1,000 total organisms to cause disease..

Edited October 1, 2011 by PassionateChefsDie (log)

[qrn]

according to some things I heard/read, they wash or soak them in a chlorine solution,before they ship them,

If so, it would have to be in the flesh not the peel,,( assuming they actually did it)...

Bud...

[Mjx]

As a general rule, if I use the sink or any surface for cleaning/prepping something that may bear pathogens (produce, meat, whatever), I just clean very thoroughly after I'm done, and forget about it. On the surface-materials front, I go with non-porous surfaces that can withstand high temperatures and chemical abuse (i.e. plastic and wood surfaces are only used for things that can be safely eaten 'as is').