Making Your Food Safer – one easy tip.

In a previous post entitled ‘My Baker’s Dozen Safety Check-off List’ I left out one of my favorite tips. I mentioned the need to take steps to prevent food poisoning, but not a good solution. Equally important to preventing food poisoning may be removing pesticides on our produce (all fruits and vegetables). Food poisoning is an acute, shorter-term issue (although it can be deadly), but removing unnecessary pesticides from your diet could save you other dramatic health concerns (especially neurological) down the track.

Anyone reading my blog knows that I am not fanatical – about almost anything. But since I believe we should eat as many vegetables as we can and a slightly less amount of fruit, the purity is imperative. It isn’t really a difficult task to accomplish. You have a few choices. The most obvious are BUY ORGANIC or BUY LOCALLY, direct from farmers or retail sources that let you know about their practices – a simple, but not always easy approach. Some advocates claim that organic foods are more nutritious, grown in soil that keep their vitamins and minerals more intact. However, that assessment supported by many but unclear in the research, is not my point here. I am not writing about what is IN the food but what is ON the food.

So you can buy organic or from known sources or you can take the time to WASH the stuff you buy. Mother Jones news says you will have to wash the produce whether it is organic or not, and sets out a good case for it. It may be somewhat time consuming to take the extra step and also expensive to buy special produce-washing soaps. But I have an answer to both of these complaints.

First, the time. Undeniably, it still take more time to wash produce than just throw it in the refrigerator. I admit that. But all you need do is fill your clean sink with water (which you will later use to either clean pots or run the disposal).   Put ALL the produce you have bought in a big pile and let it soak together. [If you want to scrub skins, now is the time.] I usually put grapes and cherries in their own bowl to wash. The same for mushrooms or berries, which should not soak long at all. For greens, leaves should be slightly separated if possible. Greens or creviced foods like broccoli or cauliflower should soak for longer periods. Later either drain them all dry in the second sink, on a paper towel or put them in a bunch of colanders.

Second, the soap. Special soaps can be costly, enough to make one re-evaluate the intention. But a simple household product combination may work even better. A solution combined in the sink of 1 part household hydrogen peroxide (don’t be scared – see below) and 3 parts white vinegar sprayed on, soaked and washed off is a cost effective method of cleaning off pesticides, chemicals and unwanted tiny varmints.

While I no longer specifically measure the amounts I use, here is an idea of the quantity. After I load the clean sink with produce and add enough water to cover it, I end up misting ‘approximately’ 1/3 cup white vinegar and 2 tablespoons of hydrogen peroxide. Some sources will recommend a 4:1 ratio, which I think is fine and equally effective for our purposes, hence my use of the word ‘approximately.’

Do not combine the products ahead of time. I simply keep two small spray bottles of each below the sink. When the water is covering the produce I spray it all (3 parts vinegar and 1 part peroxide). Swish it around and go do something else for a while. [That’s the good part, right?] At a minimum 1-minute should be used soaking; although I generally allow much more time (10-30 minutes) while I tend to other activities. Certainly you could choose to do each apple or edible one at a time before consumption (with about 3 squirts of vinegar and 1 of peroxide). Sure sounds like more work to me, but good for the occasional need.

[Note about soaking. Some government food-safety experts may advise against soaking (versus rinsing) due to the fear of cross-contamination of bacteria. One extra precaution is to use the same combo to spritz the sink for cleaning and rinsing before and after the soaking period. If you live in a water-sensitive or draught ridden area the soak is the conservative approach. ]

So for a few extra minutes and a few extra pennies you have bought extra piece of mind.

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More on the Details.

Vinegar, which is naturally occurring, is approximately 5% acetic acid in water and has a molecular structure of CH3COOH. Use white vinegar, not anything like balsamic or rice which have a different molecular make-up.

Hydrogen Peroxide (H₂O₂) is an element used for a variety of endeavors (some that don’t seem food-friendly), such as disinfectant, propellants, oxidizer and bleach. There are several different grades of the product sold to the public, 3%, 7% and 35% food-grade. None have an extensive shelf life; one of the reasons that brown bottles are used since they increase this lifespan. For this post, I am not going to address 35% grade (and some of its benefits). My produce-washing combination uses simple household peroxide (3%), which also happens to be the most stable. That is another win for us. The higher the concentration, the faster it will degrade.

You do not need to worry about reaction between the substances, although you MIGHT see a bubbling, as you would if you poured peroxide on a cut. [You are seeing a simple decomposition into water and oxygen bonds]. The reaction is nothing like the vinegar and baking soda combination that many science projects have incorporated to blow the top off paper volcanoes. I feel cheated that I never got to take a stab at that particular project and wonder if it works ‘in life’ as well as on television.

The combination of white vinegar and hydrogen peroxide is safe for our purpose. Further the solution is fine to dispose of down the drain; otherwise this would be too much work. Here is my one caveat as mentioned above (and you will find others agree with me):

Do NOT pre-mix the vinegar and peroxide into one bottle for easy storage.
Store each separately; preferably with the peroxide in original brown bottle (put a spray top on it)
Mist them both (approximately 3:1) on your horde of fruits or veggies

 

Why not mix the two substances for efficacy and less work? Poured together into one container they create another chemical (‘peracetic acid’) which has an entirely different set of properties than either the vinegar or peroxide separately. It may not even work to kill the same pathogenic food-borne bacteria. Additionally, it can be corrosive. There is not a lot of research on its corrosive effect to certain countertop materials, but it is clearly corrosive to stainless steel, copper, aluminum, chrome and chromium, as well as other metals. Many people use my recommend duo (separately) for cleaning floors (even wood) and counters (maybe not granite) as it is very useful. However, the corrosive characteristic of peracetic acid (when the vinegar and peroxide are COMBINED in a bottle) is one with which we don’t want to personally experiment.

 

Research?

While the vinegar/peroxide combo process has been around for many decades in the alternative care and natural food worlds, if you search on line you may find another common reference. In the mid 90s Susan Sumner, a food scientist at Virginia Polytechnic Institute conducted studies from which our ‘trick’ was derived. The study looked at removing salmonella, shigella, and E coli organisms from surfaces that meats and vegetables touched as well as the results when the duo is applied directly to edible items. Her findings suggested that nothing worked better. She was quoted by Janet Raloff, Senior Editor for Science News (Sept. 28, 1996) as saying:

“If the acetic acid got rid of 100 organisms,
the hydrogen peroxide would get rid of 10,000,
and the two together would get rid of 100,000”

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Sumner’s research showed that not only would the combo be helpful used on food, but on surfaces (tables, counters, cutting boards, garbage and compost holding cans, beer, wine or cheese-making equipment, floors and bathrooms). Thus not only does it encourage us to have healthier food, but to ditch the bleach – a real poison.

After using this method for almost 20 years, I can attest to the fact that it leaves no lingering taste or smells. While it is only a cosmetic issue, it will occasionally leave small white spots on fruits like apples. Other people have told me they see the same result from simple rinsing; but I cannot verify this. The combo technique is reasonably quick and significantly inexpensive comparted to pre-made, store-bought products.

Commercial Pre-made Washes.

There are many commercial produce-washers; some which I would not recommend. READ the label and reject the ones with chemicals that you set out to avoid in the first place. Here are a couple options (of course, all are more expensive than my one tip suggestion).

Citrus Magic’s product Veggie Wash is one of the more familiar with a good reputation. [Incidentally, I think that their Citrus Magic air spray and degreaser are very effective and cost-effective products).

Biokleen Produce Wash has good reviews but I have not personally tried this.

Environne Fruit & Vegetable Wash [good, but may be hard to find these days.]

Dr. Brommer’s peppermint soap is a fallback product for many as it is easily recognized as a long-time trusted natural product line. In the end if all you are going to opt for is washing with soap and (filtered) water, this is a reasonable pick. [Do not choose an antibacterial soap as an alternative.] Still, who doesn’t want a bottle of Dr Brommer’s soap in reach?

Vinoxide-HTC. This product was designed to be combined at home (sometimes recommended in a heating process). I would not recommend this. I cannot determine whether it is still available but would avoid it myself and ask, why not just make your own very simple combo? If you would like to evaluate this yourself, an executive summary of a study paper can be viewed at: http://www.ahjs.biz/pdfs/Vinoxide-HTC.pdf. I do not suggest considering it and believe it a much stronger sterilizer than is needed for our practical purpose.

 

Other Formulas

Here are some extra suggestions if you would like additional ideas or formulas for more natural cleaning:

Green Tips for cleaning Fruits and Veggies. http://goodgreenhabits.com/cleaning-fruits-and-vegetables-organic-or-conventionally-grown/

How to Wash Fruits and Vegetable: http://blog.lexienaturals.com/2013/04/how-to-wash-fruits-and-vegetables.html

Conscious Health Natural Therapy  http://conscioushealthnaturaltherapy.weebly.com/cleaning-non-organic-produce.html

NPR (September 20, 2007), What Does it Take to Clean Fresh Food?   Promoting vinegar.

Cleaning with vinegar: http://www.apple-cider-vinegar-benefits.com/cleaning-with-vinegar.html

Some of these sources also suggested vinegar/peroxide, but offered other ‘formulas’ as well, including lemon juice as an ingredient.

http://www.food.com/recipe/natural-produce-wash-286819

http://m.allrecipes.com/recipe/171093/natural-fruit-and-veggie-wash/?mxt=t06rda

Three which also Include extracts and essential oils:

http://naturallymindful.com/2013/08/natural-fruit-and-veggie-wash-3-recipes.html

http://www.keeperofthehome.org/2012/07/homemade-lemon-citrus-produce-wash-natural-fast-easy.html

http://www.thankyourbody.com/diy-natural-vegetable-wash-recipes/

Citation.

Sumner article. http://www.researchgate.net/publication/9084995_Effect_of_organic_acids_and_hydrogen_peroxide_on_Cryptosporidium_parvum_viability_in_fruit_juices (abstract accessed August 2015). Full Summer article available at: http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Susan_Sumner2

Picture credit:  Title Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND

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