odyssey

In the past I was always very careful about washing fruit and veg/peeling/cooking etc. Lately though, I buy nearly all organic and have found myself sometimes letting the kids have a "washed carrot" straight from the bag. I often dont wash apples etc.

This E-Coli outbreak in Europe led me to read quite a lot of articles on organic food and made me realise, that since chemicals arent used so much, poo is the primary feed and so of course, the risk of infections are quite high. Also washing has to be really really thorough.

Also with some fruits the actual foliage and fruit are sprayed.

Just thought I'd mention it

Kooky.

Always wash them, sometimes use a vegetable brush too.

How many pairs of hands have they been through before they end up in your kids'?

iamthecreaturefromuranus

Apples - never, but I don't buy that dodgy organic stuff.

As for most of the other fruit and veg, that you don't peel before eating, unless you plan to wash it in boiling water, washing isn't going to kill e-coli anyway.

Boiled lettuce anybody?

Kooky.

That's why it's recommended never to eat salad in a third-world/tropical country.

I always wash apples; most I buy seem to be oily, coated in something I don't peel veg unless I have to - most of the nutrients are just under the skin.

Amazulu

Of course

jad n rich

Very carefully wash all fruit and veg.

But thats mainly since we started to grow our own fruit and veg. It was a shock to see how many bugs/grasshoppers/locusts/caterpillers etc attack them. Our idea was for organic produce, its impossible. If you dont put something on them it gets eaten Asian greens for eg, 6 plants wiped out in a day.

To get the ' perfect ' stuff you get in shops its had a MASS of chemical to get it that stage

We also had acerage out near strawberry farms, they also grew all sorts of greens. Commercial sprayers were out all the time. Huge tanks of chemical going on it.

asprilla

I always wash them, not specifically to remove germs though as the cooking process will get rid of most of them (though washing of course helps), but more so to get rid of any chemicals, odours or any other bits of debris/dust/dirt.

We don't tend to buy organic fruit & veg. In my opinion, it doesn't actually taste any better, it doesn't look more appealing, and then to top it off... it is more expensive too. I know that the fertilisers and insecticides are harmful to humans when ingested in large quantities, but I don't think there is any cause for concern when they are ingested in minute quantities. Of course I would prefer not to ingest any of these chemicals.....and that's why we take care to wash the veggies.

spuddyo

Unless it's spuds, carrots and peas I never eat veggies

the troubadour

Essential wash well and hope for the best. Besides germs that be passed on through handling must remember all the chemicals used to contros insects etc.
If you don't peel everything which then results in the loss of a lot of the goodness then only solution is stick to meat.

odyssey

I grow a lot of veg organically and it does get easier. I lost the first couple of years worth and its still more a playgame for me but your garden does get less bug friendly. The whole permaculture thing is about creating habitat etc. And I use nets a bit for leafy greens because the grasshoppers are a pain. my chickens help a bit with that. I dont grow enough to sustain ourselves but am getting more and more and it definately tastes a lot different straight from the garden.

As for the waxy stuff on apples, I get unwaxed, that sorts that out but I am now washing everything although I never did wtih apples and things.

I now buy mostly organic but definately all local - it just seems better to me to cut out the transport, the storage, the time taken and support local industry at the same time. Living on the sunshine coast though thats easy and I feel happy on the weekend at the farmers market with my woven basket and the sun on my face tasting fresh passion fruit.

Organic meat is proven to make a huge difference - I notice Coles has gone hormone free though which is great but for me, although I eat meat, I am looking for sustainability, less cruelty, healthier happier animals. I don't need to cause any more suffering than is necessary. It is just not something I have to do so I dont. Organic milk too is definately better for you especially if you have female children.

Its not any hassle for me, easier than walking around Coles, looking at the shelves and wishing for tesco. most shops now have reasonable ranges, and yes theres a difference in price but when you know what is sold where, its not that much difference. also being in a natural based industry, I have trade accounts etc and have to buy organic meat for my dog foods etc.

I read the other day too that strawberries here are sprayed with something or other that is banned throughout europe.

at the end of the day everything is going to kill you one way or another but you just reach a level where you do the things important to you. I smoke occasionally and I am sure that is far better than the sprayed chemicals.

the troubadour

I'd say without a doubt smoking a few fags is far less harmful than the chemicals used in a lot of fruit and veges,especially here in Oz.

I've been informed by a wine expert in Europe that in Australia they use something in the wine which is forbidden in Germany.
Can't think what the name of the chemical was though.

lesleys

I always wash everything. The only thing save to eat without washing is a banana. We lived in Turkey many years ago and were ill throughout the hot weather no matter how much we washed stuff and avoided salad - you never knew if someone had used tap water at sometime, hence the illness.

We grow avocados now and are only too aware of all the creatures and their waste matter which visit the fruit before it is picked. You need to was your hands after you have peeled the fruit before you touch anything else.

pumpkin blossom

I never wash anything which is not obviously dirty. Germs are good for you. I certainly never get sick and have a stomach of iron. :-)

iamthecreaturefromuranus

Defo something in that. I'm convinced that the rise and rise of childhood asthma is linked to the lack of germs in the kids early life... they're just too damn clean.

Bernieboy

Totally agree on the salad,i almost stupidly lost my life after eating salad in Lebanon which i knew was a big no no,4 days of my life i thankfully don't remember,but my mates still shudder when they reminise about it,a lesson learned.