WHO, WHAT, WHY?
The Magazine answers...
We're constantly told to eat five portions of fruit and veg a day to stay
healthy. But should these be washed first?
"Have you washed that?" The question that nearly always flies from your
mother's mouth as you're about to bite into an apple or chomp on some grapes.
It is usually followed by a trip to the kitchen sink.
Washing fruit is one of those habits that is drummed into children as soon as
they are big enough to reach the fruit bowl. But is it really necessary?
The purpose of cleaning fruit and vegetables is to wash off any pesticide
residues, from the chemical and biological substances used to kill or control
pests that harm our food, health or environment.
Dirty hands
The main use of pesticides is in agriculture to ensure that crops remain
healthy, and wastage through disease and infestation is prevented. Government
ministers must approve all pesticides before they can be marketed or used in
the UK.
Small amounts of residue can remain behind in the crop after harvesting or
storage and make their way into the food chain. According to the Pesticide
Safety Directorate (PSD) a third of food contains pesticide residues.
Fruit is also at risk of contamination from dust, dirt and bacteria as most of
it has been stored in warehouses, travelled in containers and stored again in
the premises of the retailers.
The role of the Food Standards Agency (FSA) is to protect consumers by ensuring
that pesticide residues are as low as practically possible and within safe
limits.
The FSA's Sam Montel, a nutrition expert and a registered public health
nutritionist, says the risk from eating unwashed fruit is minimal but getting
into the habit of washing and - where appropriate - peeling fruit and
vegetables is simple good hygienic practice.
"It ensures that they are clean and that bacteria that might be on the outside
are removed," she says. "If a vegetable or piece of fruit is especially dirty,
washing might not be enough to get it clean, so then you could peel it."
Lost nutrients
When the FSA asked the independent Advisory Committee on Pesticides (ACP) to
review its advice on washing fruit, the committee concluded that washing and
peeling fruit and vegetables is a matter of individual choice - it is good
hygiene but not required.
The FSA continues to advise people to wash or peel. Campaign groups say this is
not good enough, as peeling and washing fruit may reduce residues but it will
not eliminate them. And peeling removes fibre and important vitamins such as C.
Friends of the Earth says the best way to keep people safe is to not use
chemical pesticides at all.
"The FSA's advice is ineffective - many residues survive peeling," says a
spokeswoman. "We want effective action to ban the most dangerous pesticides,
and to reduce to a minimum all use of pesticides in farming."