Washing fruits and vegetables is a laborious task for many people. While some use vinegar water, others prefer carbonated water. So, which one is the right app? Is it vinegar water? Carbonated water? Or just washing with water?

First, let’s talk about pesticides. Pesticides are substances used to protect fruits and vegetables from the effects of pests such as microorganisms and pests. Such substances have adverse effects on human health. Therefore, such residues must be removed when washing fruits and vegetables.

How should we wash fruits and vegetables?

After a short introduction, let’s move on to the answer to our question. The most common method that I see in my close circle is to wait for a while in vinegar water and then wash it in water. However, the vinegar water we use to wash fruits and vegetables does not remove pesticide residues. Washing with vinegar reduces the microorganism load. In other words, the development of microorganisms is prevented by making the environment acidic.

According to studies, just washing with water reduces pesticide residues by half. Washing after soaking in baking soda solution (min. 8 minutes) gives a more effective result than washing with just water.

Some generalized patterns are difficult to change. Of course, it is not wrong to wash with vinegar. But washing in this way has no effect on pesticide residues.

Reference: Journal of Food and Health Science, 3(3):109-116 (2017).