Washing Fruits with Water and Soap? You Might Not Be Doing Enough
Surprising new study: Washing fruit with water and soap isn't effective enough to remove pesticide residues. So, what is the most efficient method? The answer is inside.
(Photo: shutterstock)We all grew up with the advice to wash fruits before eating them, usually with soap and water. A new study conducted at the University of Massachusetts surprises with its findings, claiming that to remove pesticides from fruits, washing with water and soap alone is not effective.
The researchers aimed to understand the best and most effective way to remove pesticide residues from fruit, so they tested 3 different cleaning methods on an apple.
The study's conclusions are surprising: the least effective method for cleaning the fruit is washing with bleach, or alternatively, washing under tap water.
However, the most recommended method for removing pesticide residues turned out to be the least common one: washing the fruit with baking soda solution. Place the fruit in a container where water and baking soda have been pre-mixed, and it does the job.
However, the researchers note that in all the methods tested above, 100% effectiveness in removing all pesticide residues from the fruit was not proven.
