Should I wash my groceries?

The visible portion of crud which came off after washing in dish washing detergent (Dawn®), and a wee bit of common, unscented household bleach.

Bluntly, hells fucking YES!!

And pandemic goofiness aside, AT ALL TIMES one (meaning YOU, dear reader) should wash fresh produce with a bit of unscented dish washing soap/detergent, and a wee bit of unscented common, household bleach.

No one knows what kind of “cooties,” germs, pathogens, bacteria, and otherwise bad “bugs” – including bug poo – have settled upon fresh produce.

In this example, I washed a bunch of celery, 3 green bell peppers, a bunch of cilantro, several jalapeño peppers, and 2 heads of broccoli.

How did I wash them?

In a basin of cool water I dissolved some Dawn® brand unscented dishwashing detergent/soap, and about a quarter cup of common, unscented household bleach. Suds are NOT necessary.

Simply dissolve the additive ingredients by gently stirring the water. The basin should be at least half full of water.

Place the ingredients/vegetables to be washed in for a soak for about 10, or 15 minutes +/-.

Take them out, one by one, and rinse them individually. Use the sprayer, also. It’ll help more evenly disperse the rinse water.

Shake out the excess water from the rinsed vegetables, and set them on a towel to dry – if you’re going to be storing some in the fridge for later use. Otherwise, go ahead and use them.

As I let the excess water drain from the vegetables on a dish towel, the water in the basin had been allowed to set shortly after cleaning he vegetables, all the suspended dirt settled to the bottom of the basin, as seen here in this image.

Now, to simply look at the fresh veggies in the grocery store, or market, one might think, ‘oh, they’re cleaned before they leave the farm.’ And, that’s quite true. They are. Most produce is cleaned before it leaves the farm.

But they do NOT get ALL the dirt, and they sure don’t clean off the germs, bacteria, viruses, bug poo, and other debris/detritus innocently put on it by shipping handlers and shoppers… who may not have washed their hands after toileting, or may be sick with the flu, or some other sickness.

And here’s a “Pro Tip”:
If you’re going to be cutting it from the outside in, such as with apples, avocados, melons, citrus, etc., ALWAYS also wash them the same way.

Why?

You’re cutting from OUTSIDE to inside, and as the knife slices through it, whatever’s on the outside will then be on the inside.

Bananas, onions, and mushrooms are about the only exceptions, since they’re peeled, and mushrooms should be rinsed with clean water only. One should definitely wash greens, berries (straw, blue, rasp, etc.), including peaches, plums, nectarines, etc. And it wouldn’t hurt to wash citrus – lemons, limes, oranges, grapefruit, etc., either. Apples, of course, go without saying. They too, should be washed.

What about canned or packaged food?

A “spritz” with rubbing alcohol, and wipe down will suffice.

Y’all stay healthy out there!