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Washing fruits and vegetables before eating them is a key step to reduce dirt, microorganisms and residue that may be left on the surface.

On the Ecologia Verde YouTube channel, they recommend using baking soda and vinegar separately to clean food.

Why it’s important to wash fruits and vegetables before eating them

Cleaning food before eating it helps remove dirt, dust and other substances that may stick to it during harvesting, transport or sale. This cleaning is especially important for those fruits and vegetables that are eaten raw and uncooked.

In addition, fresh produce can come into contact with different microorganisms throughout the production and distribution chain. Proper hygiene helps reduce the presence of bacteria and other contaminants that could enter the body when eaten.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommends washing fruits and vegetables under running water, rubbing the surface and washing your hands before and after handling them.

Cleaning fruits and vegetables with baking soda or vinegar

The Ecologia Verde YouTube channel recommended using these two ingredients to clean fruits and vegetables.

Baking soda

This inexpensive and easy-to-find product can be used to clean food. According to the video, one tablespoon of baking soda should be dissolved in one liter of water and stirred.

Then, let the food soak for 10 minutes.

Vinegar

This product, commonly used in cooking, can help disinfect food if used the right way.

According to Ecologia Verde, there are two ways to use it:

  • Dissolve one cup of vinegar in one liter of water and let the fruits and vegetables soak for 10 minutes.
  • Put the vinegar in a spray bottle and spray it on the food before cooking.

What baking soda and vinegar do and why they’re recommended

Baking soda and vinegar are recommended as home alternatives for cleaning fruits and vegetables before eating them.

The first may help loosen certain residue from the surface, while vinegar has antimicrobial properties under certain conditions.

However, using them does not guarantee the removal of all microorganisms or pesticide residue. Also, it is not a good idea to mix both ingredients, since they react with each other and are partially neutralized, so combining them does not necessarily improve cleaning.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends washing fruits and vegetables with plenty of clean running water and scrubbing those with a firm surface. It does not advise using soap, detergents or household cleaning products to wash food.