Surely, you have wondered on more than one occasion why it is recommended to wash vegetables and whether it is really necessary in all cases, as doubts may arise regarding the different ranges of products available in supermarkets.
Is it necessary to wash all vegetables?
Actually, washing the vegetables we buy in markets—also supermarkets—is crucial to remove dust and dirt that may have accumulated on the skin of the fruits and vegetables during their transport, handling, or even packaging. But how should we do it? And above all, in which specific cases should it be done?
The answer is not unique, as it depends on several factors. What is advisable in most cases is to wash our vegetables under running water, rubbing the skin well and using a brush if necessary to clean the more challenging areas on these vegetables. Some specific cases where it is not necessary to wash the ready-to-eat salads, which come already washed, cut, and packaged by the food industry. This group of ready-to-eat vegetable products is known as the fourth vegetable range.
Vegetables for raw consumption
We must pay special attention to vegetables that are going to be consumed raw, as they can be the most delicate in terms of food safety.
When we talk about vegetables that are going to be consumed raw, such as a salad, for example, it is also recommended that, in addition to washing under the tap, we disinfect them with a few drops of bleach suitable for food use. As recommended by AESAN (Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition), 1 teaspoon of bleach (4.5 ml) per 3 liters of water should be used for proper disinfection, immersing the fresh vegetables for 5 minutes and then rinsing thoroughly with water.
It is true that thinking about using bleach may cause some initial rejection, but it is actually a highly effective method to eliminate pathogens and prevent food poisoning at home through the consumption of potentially contaminated vegetables.
The key lies in the dosage, so if we follow the official recommendations of AESAN, there is nothing to fear when it comes to using bleach to disinfect food.
Vegetable products that do not need to be washed or disinfected
As mentioned earlier, for vegetables that come already cut and packaged, what we call the fourth range, it is not really necessary to wash them as they come clean from the food industry, where they take care of that.
Another example of prepared vegetables that do not need to be disinfected with bleach suitable for food use is those that are fresh but that we are going to cook immediately. In these cases, it is not really necessary to disinfect with bleach suitable for food use since the heat will destroy any potential pathogens present. It is still advisable to wash them under running water.
For frozen products, there is already a safety guarantee from the food industry thanks to hygienic and technological processes before packaging.