Someday we shall look back on this dark era of agriculture and shake our heads. How could we have ever believed that it was a good idea to grow our food with poisons?” — Dr. Jane Goodall
I buy organic produce at the farmers’ market from small local producers who: grow a variety of crops which they rotate, use beneficial plants and insects to keep pests at bay, build good soil and so on. My daughter MK, a broke student, cannot afford to eat food grown this way. She usually opts for less expensive, factory farmed fruit and vegetables she buys at the discount grocery store—the non-organic produce grown in monocultures and sprayed with synthetic pesticides.
But she told me about a simple trick that removes some of the pesticides from the surface of her produce:
In a bowl, mix together about one tablespoon of baking soda with six cups of water. Add the produce. Wait about 15 minutes. Drain. Rinse.
Not a woowoo trick
A 2017 study out of University of Massachusetts, Amherst, showed that a solution of baking soda and water removed two types of pesticides from the surface of apples more effectively than did plain water or a solution of bleach and water. You can read the study here.
The researchers treated organic Gala apples with two common pesticides, the fungicide thiabendazole, and phosmet, which kills various pests, after which they soaked the apples in the three different solutions and finally, tested the apples for residues. They found that the baking soda solution “took 12 and 15 min to completely remove thiabendazole or phosmet surface residues, respectively, following a 24 [hour] exposure to these pesticides.”
Although the study looked at apples only, one of the researchers, Dr. He, said the baking soda solution is a “general method” that can be used on other kinds of fruit and vegetables because it helps to break up pesticide molecules, which can then be washed away.
The Dirty Dozen
So which fruits and vegetables might you want to wash in baking soda and water? The Environmental Working Group (EWG), a nonprofit that advocates for policies that protect human health, maintains a list of the types of conventional produce that contain the most pesticide residues—The Dirty Dozen. These 12 are:
- Strawberries
- Spinach
- Nectarines
- Apples
- Grapes
- Peaches
- Cherries
- Pears
- Tomatoes
- Celery
- Potatoes
- Sweet bell peppers
With strawberries ranking first on the list, you may want to buy organic if you can, because:
One strawberry sample contained an astounding 22 pesticide residues. One-third of all conventional strawberry samples contained 10 or more pesticides.”
(And yes, I realize organic may be treated with a limited number of pesticides. That is another post. Click here for the definition of “USDA certified organic.”)
The Clean Fifteen
EWG also lists the Clean Fifteen—the fruit and vegetables with the smallest amounts of pesticide residues. Additionally, EWG found that only 5 percent of the following contained two or more pesticides:
- Avocados
- Sweet corn
- Pineapples
- Cabbages
- Onions
- Frozen sweet peas
- Papayas
- Asparagus
- Mangoes
- Eggplants
- Honeydew melons
- Kiwi fruit
- Cantaloupes
- Cauliflower
- Broccoli
What about commercial vegetable wash?
Having never bought produce wash, I did some research (i.e. I googled “produce wash”) and the brand Veggie Wash popped up first. With nearly 500 reviews on Amazon, it seems to be a popular brand—or at least one that Amazon pushes. The product touts itself as “All Natural” and “Made with Organic Citrus!”
Consumer products (i.e., products that manufacture need) overpackaged in plastic and plastered with health benefits just about send me over the edge. We pollute the environment and then to supposedly clean up that pollution, buy products that create more pollution.
I had trouble finding the ingredients in this stuff on Amazon but spied a customer picture of the back label on the product page for the gallon jug. That image listed the ingredients as:
- Water
- Potassium Oleate
- Glycerine
- Decyl Glucoside
- Limonene (Natural Citrus Oil)
- Organic Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Peel Oil
- Heliunthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil
- Rosmarinus Officiallis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract
- Potassium Sorbate
First off, why pay money for water, the main ingredient?
EWG’s Skin Deep Cosmetics Database lists the function, potential hazards and health concerns of over 73,000 cosmetics and personal care products. I searched the database for the more questionable ingredients in this produce wash.
- Potassium Oleate is a surfactant (a cleansing agent)
- Decyl Glucoside is also a surfactant
- Potassium Sorbate is used as a fragrance and preservative
These ingredients all had low overall hazard scores—Potassium Sorbate scored the highest—but not as low as sodium bicarbonate (baking soda), an “Abrasive; Buffering Agent; Deodorant Agent; Oral Care Agent; Oral Health Care Drug; pH Adjuster; Skin Protectant; Skin Protecting.”
So I am no scientist but this stuff sounds like snake oil. Save your money. You likely already have baking soda in your cupboard. Mix it with water to remove visible residue—and even some invisible pesticide.
Homemade Produce Wash
Equipment
- 1 measuring spoons
- 1 large measuring cup
- 1 large bowl or kitchen sink
Materials
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
- 6 cups water
Instructions
- Mix the baking soda and water in a large bowl. Add the produce. Wait about 15 minutes. Drain. Rinse.
Notes
Learn more about my book here.
Great post! Since I moved to Davis, I’ve been buying all my produce, mostly, at the co-op. I confess, though, that I also buy frozen organic green beans at Trader Joe’s. But I have older kids who are either about to finish college or have already finished college, so I know how tight money can be for them. We use baking soda for so many things at our house (apartment :)). I’ve even used it to unclog drains. It’s great to know about one more use, and I appreciate the study you referenced. We just don’t need all the different products that are out there. And I agree with Jane Goodall’s quote. Dreaming of a different world …
Thanks Laura. I forget what it was like to be a broke student so my daughter is a good reminder. I too love baking soda. I’ve been meaning to write an ode to it 😀 I’ll get to it one of these days. ~ Anne Marie
Hi, Thanks for the wonderful post. My mother has migraine so she avoids baking soda as it’s told to her that it triggers the same. I love cookies and eggless pancakes but make the only like once in a month. What’s your opinion on using baking soda for food ?
Hi Ambily, Thanks for checking out the post 🙂 I use baking soda when I bake, aside from sourdough bread, which doesn’t contain baking soda, only flour, water and salt. My kids used to get migraines but neither one has had one for a long time (knock on wood). We haven’t had a problem with consuming baking soda but I’m no migraine expert. ~ Anne Marie
Baking soda is obviously 100% fine to consume, although some brands may be orocessed with aluminum.
Grains, on the other hand, are very hazardous.
Raven, This is a common misunderstanding. Baking soda or sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) doesn’t contain aluminium. However, baking powder which is made from baking soda sometimes has aluminum added to activate once heating. You can buy aluminum free baking powder or make your own with bak8mg soda, cream of tartar and a starch. I use tapioca starch instead of corn starch as it often is GMO.
One day, because of you, I’m going to buy a bunch of fresh green beans and freeze them in glass jars. But green beans can be tricky. Sometimes, they aren’t very good, so I would want to buy a test bunch. Though I freeze everything else in glass jars, now. Because of you 🙂
😀
Blanching them first might help. I have “write post about blanching vegetables” on my long to-blog list… Jars in the freezer work really well!
Going to give this a try, but planning 15 ahead to eat fruit is going to take some patience! I am so used to washing just before eating and not really planning when I might want to eat that peach for a snack, 15 might feel like forever with some juicy fresh fruit staring at me from the bowl. For preparing meals though this should be no problem.
Thanks for the tip!
Hi Emilie, I’m glad you found the tip useful. That’s true about the fruit! Especially during peach season 😀 You could wash some fruit all at once after you buy it. I wouldn’t wash berries until before eating them though. If they remain damp after washing, they can start to break down faster. ~ Anne Marie
Most things can be washed and dried in advance with no harm. Simply leave them outside of the refrigerator long enough to be 100% dry.
How about disinfecting the produce (especially the ones you eat raw)? I would suggest following up the baking soda wash with a vinegar rinse. I’m not in the US and where I’m from everybody disinfects their produce, I have to confess that every time I read in the news about yet another recall of E Coli infected produce in the US I can’t help but wonder why people don’t disinfect their lettuce, etc. like we do in other countries.
Thank you for this informative article! I eat a lot of celery and bell peppers, and will use the baking soda wash on them. I agree about packaging. For a while I fantasized about going to a store, buying a lot of stuff, then taking all the extra packaging off and leaving it at the store for them to deal with. That probably wouldn’t be effective and just burden the clerks (unless we all did it), but it might feel good to do. Often the packaging isn’t necessary at all (such as a cardboard box around a plastic bottle holding hand cream ).
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All good for the person eating the veg and fruit but I suppose the pesticides that get washed off still end up somewhere ie down the drain and into the water system? Or maybe the bicarb of soda neutralises the pesticides? (but think this is doubtful). Just some thoughts..
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[…] 3. In What Proportion Is Veggie Clean To Be Used With Water? EWG also lists the Clean Fifteen—the fruit and vegetables with the smallest amounts of pesticide residues. … only flour, water and salt. My kids used to get migraines but neither one has had one for a long time (knock on wood). … soda with six cups of water and let your vegetables and fruit soak for 15 minutes.https://zerowastechef.com/2018/07/10/ditch-produce-wash-use-baking-soda-water-instead/ […]