Washing vegetables

How to disinfect fruits and vegetables before eating

Max. D Gray
By Max. D Gray. Updated: January 16, 2017
How to disinfect fruits and vegetables before eating

Before eating a fruit or vegetable, we should always wash and disinfect them to remove any dirt or bacteria that may have accumulated on them that can affect our health. Before reaching the market where we buy them, they have gone through a number of places and have had the opportunity to accumulate dirt, insects, bacteria, parasites or even chemicals and pesticides, which we sometimes do not even know are in the food. Although we cannot see these with the naked eye, the truth is that they can damage or severely poison us, so it is very important to go through this process before eating them. Below we here at OneHowTo.com explain how to disinfect fruits and vegetables before eating.

You'll need:
  • Water
  • Sodium Bicarbonate
  • White Vinegar
  • Chlorine Bleach
Steps to follow:
1

Disinfecting fruits and vegetables does not take long and you can do it with products that you have at home.

2

First you should wash them well, even if they have a peel. They must remain under tap water for two minutes, brushing them can help if they are very dirty.

How to disinfect fruits and vegetables before eating - Step 2
3

We recommend that you don't remove the stems or ends of the fruit before washing, and you should wash leafy vegetables one leaf at a time.

4

After washing, continue to disinfect them by leaving them to soak for 10 minutes, you can also do this with sodium bicarbonate. Dilute a tablespoon of baking soda in a litre of water; this is a very popular natural disinfectant and can kill all the bacteria.

How to disinfect fruits and vegetables before eating - Step 4
5

Chlorine Bleach: Dilute only 5 drops of this product in one litre of water. Wash it thoroughly and immediately rinse it off with potable water. Make sure the bleach used does not have any additives such as fragrances or thickeners. This is not the most advisable method.

6

White Vinegar: Dilute 1 cup of vinegar in one litre of water. No bacteria or parasite can stand up to vinegar, it kills everything. What you need to do in order to disinfect your veggies properly is to mix water with 1/3 of vinegar and soak them for 15 minutes. Rinse them straight after.

How to disinfect fruits and vegetables before eating - Step 6
7

Now you just have to wash the fruits or vegetables again with cold water to remove the disinfectant from them.

8

Now they are ready to eat!

If you want to read similar articles to How to disinfect fruits and vegetables before eating, we recommend you visit our Food & drink category.

Tips
  • Remember to rinse the fruit & veg out with water after any of the treatments mentioned above.

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How to disinfect fruits and vegetables before eating