What's the Deal with Fruit and Vegetable Wash?

When it comes to washing produce, plain old water just isn't good enough. At least that's according to the makers of commercial fruit and vegetable sprays. Is this a ploy to get us to buy pricey, non-essential cleaning products? Or is there some truth to it? Do you use a fruit and vegetable wash?

Produce washes are purported to help remove pesticides, wax, dirt, and other residues. It's important to follow individual cleansers' instructions, but in general the washes can be sprayed on hard-skinned fruits and vegetables and then rinsed off with water, or used as a soak for soft-skinned produce. Most commercial brands are derived from ingredients like citrus, coconut, corn, and other plant-based sources.

While they are generally considered safe, the actual effectiveness of these washes is debated. Even if they remove surface residues, one can't be sure that all pesticides have been eliminated. And some evidence suggests water is actually good enough. In a study of three commercial washes, University of Maine researchers found that distilled water was equally if not more effective in removing microbes such as bacteria and mold. Another study at Tennessee State University also found that water worked as well as the vegetable wash tested.

And yet, we know that produce washes give some people peace of mind. If this is the case in your household, you don't need to shell out a ton of money for commercial products. You can make your own spray using ingredients you probably already have in your pantry. A solution of equal parts white vinegar and water can dissolve residues and kill bacteria; just spray it on, rub, and rinse with water. For other simple solutions, see Re-Nest's How To: Make Your Own Fruit and Vegetable Wash.

How do you wash fruits and vegetables?

(Images: Flickr member mawel licensed under Creative Commons, Amazon.com)

Comments (31)

Funny, I use dish soap and water...

My thinking is that if there is something so awful on your produce that water and possibly some brushing/scrubbing won't get it off,

* fruit and vegetable wash probably won't make it much better
* you should probably not buy that produce in the first place

I'm operating under the assumption that the worst residues on produce are those applied to conventional (i.e. non-organic) produce intentionally, so for products I'm worried about, specifically the ones that top the list of worst residue levels, I either buy organic or accept the fact that I'm going to be eating the toxic chemicals that water can't rinse off.

I use biokleen produce wash because it smells awesome and leaves no residue at all. The purpose of the wash, in my opinion is to be a non-toxic sudsing agent that forces you to make friction on the produce and destroy bacteria. Similar to handwashing soaps.

Dr. Bronner's soap diluted with water works. You could easily make your own spray out of it. I also will sometimes use everyday dish soap.

water will do me just fine, thank you.

in extreme circumstances - and i'm talking the cholera outbreak of the 90s in latin america - my family used vinegar and water. no need for fancy products or more plastic containers.

I really can't imagine that someone would need food to be that clean, unless someone in the household is immunocompromised. Otherwise, just scrub it all down well with water and, if necessary, a scrub brush, and be done with it. Maybe that's just my lazy talking, though. ;-)

It's good to know that if you do get concerned about it, you can just use vinegar. Is there anything that miracle elixir can't do?

I like the "Dirty Dozen Cheat Sheet" to remember which vegetables are the most covered in pesticides. It's probably best to avoid them altogether (or buy them organic) than to use these "veggie washes".

I lived in Mexico for a spell and we had to use iodine drops in a bowl of water and let the fruit and veggies soak in there before we ate them, but in the US, water or soap and water will do the trick.

I use biokleen as well even though I buy all-organic produce. I especially like it for berries, which are difficult to wash well with water alone. Keep in mind that even organic produce is often sprayed with things you don't want to be ingesting. I learned about this in California last year, when the friendly berry farmer explained to me that his produce was not just organic but no-spray as well. When I asked my NY organic vendors at the Greenmarket in NYC, they grudgingly admitted that they occasionally sprayed their produce with pesticides allowed by the organic standards. Hence, I use biokleen.

These veggie washes actually make me MORE nervous. It just seems counterintuitive to wash off pesticides with more chemical compounds.

ok, I am as clean-freak as it gets, but washing fruit with dish-soap is just misguided. First of all, you won't wash off all the dish soap - soap residue, yum. And as posters above have mentioned, if you really need soap to wash off the grime, you shouldn't be buying it. There are dirtier things more worth your attention.

There's a product by lotus that distills water and is supposed to make it the best cleaner - and I put it on my wedding registry. I wouldn't buy it myself but I do want it - and if I got it I'd totally use it.

Otherwise to be honest I am more concerned about bugs and mold on produce. So I soak berries and anything like that in a little lemon (or like or grapefruit) water for a bit before rinsing it off. Everything else gets rinsed and dried before putting away. I try to buy organic produce but I still realize there can be yucky stuff on it like organic fertilizer. I assume I think this way because my grandparents were raised on farms and I was lucky enough to spend summers with my great grandparents on their farms digging up potatoes, picking beans, and strawberries. They never used harsh pesticides because they didn't think they needed them (commercially they were cattle farmers) but they taught me it's important to get the dirt and bugs off your food.

I just use a vegetable-based dish soap.

I use diluted organic white vinegar in a spray bottle and then rinse. No aftertaste. I also buy all organic. I wouldn't buy a cleaner or use soap, I feel like that adds chemicals.

I use dish soap to remove the waxes and oils applied during harvesting. They are added to lenghthen the fruit or vegetables shelf life. I scrub the melons to remove the field dirt and grubby hand residues from the store workers. Several outbreaks of food poisoning have come from dirty fruits and vegetables.

piece of mind? really?

I have honestly never washed anything unless I could actually see dirt on it (spinach usually gets a good soak to remove grit) I buy organic so I guess I don't have to worry about it too much & I figure a little extra dirt never hurt anyone. (probably some extra protien from bugs occasionally too)

I can't imagine how neutrotic you would have to be to buy fruit & veg wash & painstakingly wash all your produce.

a little vinegar mixed with water is best!

I have never even heard of using fruit and vegetable wash. I didn't know it existed. I use water.

We use trader joe's castile soap and water from a brita faucet filter.

My mom started using a veggie wash after a rather nasty bout of food-poisoning from E. Coli on (we think) dirty vegetables.

I don't know whether the spray works, but it does give her some *peace* of mind.

I fill water in my sink with 1/4 cup of vinegar and 2 tablespoons of salt. I really just eyeball the measures, but then allow veggies /fruit to soak for about 15 minutes then rinse. I use this method when cleaning a mass amount of fresh produce. If it's just one thing I just use water. You can also make a mixture of 1TBL of fresh lemon juice, 1TBL baking soda and 1 cup of water to use in a spray bottle.

A good rinse with water and if I think it's got some wax on it or if i'm using the rind of an orange I'll use a drop of dish soap and then rinse well again.
You aren't getting any more dish soap on your produce this way than you would get from your dishes every time you clean them!

I typically rinse all produce under cold water. But if something is really freaking me out (for one reason or another) I mix up a water/baking soda paste, scrub fruit and rinse off. Usually this will be with unorganic "dirty dozen" type items.

The extent of my piece of mind comes from buying organics (at least the stuff on the 'dirty dozen' list), and then rubbing with a little water to get off the gritty stuff. That's about it.

I thought pesticides were supposed to be waterproof anyways...?

I also dilute vinegar in water (the kind of vinegar doesn't matter) and let the fruits or veggies soak for 10 minutes or so.

If I think there are lots of dirt or pesticides, I soak in the sink with water and a bit of vinegar and then give things a scrub. Otherwise I hardly bother - just a quick rinse for everything. I try to buy locally where possible, and grow a lot of my own. (In Victoria I can grow spinach 10 months of the year.)

A friend who came for dinner the other night watched me pick spinach in the rain and then throw it in the salad spinner to dry. She asked if I was going to wash it, and I just looked at her, puzzled. Wash off what?

Um, and what do you clean your sink with?

This strikes me as a perfect example of North American paranoia.

I wonder if my comment will even register after all the spam ones, but I'm wondering what people do when they get (organic) broccoli from their CSA that is full of bugs. Like, FULL of bugs, infesting all the little nooks and crannies. I've tried a dash of vinegar, a dash of bleach, a boiling water rinse, soaking for a long time in the hopes they'd crawl out for air... I hate to throw anything away, but the 'ugh' factor is just too high to eat.

I use Environné-I like that it is a food grade soap that is intended to break down pesticides, and remove them when rinsed away. I also like that there is no after-taste, smell, or sticky residue left behind. As for chemical compounds in the product-it is made with natural ingredients, and non-toxic. Dish soap isn't designed to remove pesticide residue and doesn't always rinse completely away.