Produce Washes “A Wash”
A University of California Riverside scientist has found that produce washes aren’t much more effective than tap water at removing pesticide residues from vegetables and other produce. After seeing advertising claims that some products were up to 10 times better than water at removing residues, the researcher conducted rinse trials with the fungicide captan.
In the experiment, one group of produce was rinsed with tap water, the second was rinsed with water and produce wash, and the third was not rinsed. The unrinsed produce had a residue of 6.7 ppm. The produce wash plus water rinsed group had a concentration of 3.7 ppm, and the water-only rinsed produce value was 4.1 ppm (a reduction of 45 and 39 percent, respectively). The difference was not statistically significant. The researcher stated that the washes aren’t measuring up to their claims and major produce companies have given the research kudos, since they often wash produce but are wary of promoting the practice over concerns that consumers wouldn’t believe water was enough to clean the produce. (Pesticide & Toxic Chemical News, 1/6/03).
