It’s a deep dark red color but still shiny as can be, it’s firm to the touch and you can’t wait to bite into that perfectly ripe apple you just found at your local market. But wait that voice in your head is reminding you to wash that apple before you take a big chunk out of it. I always wondered what the big deal was, am I trying to clean off pesticides, some shipping treatment or just the germs from everyone else’s hands at the grocery store.

According to Your Total Health the reason for cleaning your fresh produce is just to remove dirt from shipping and some germs passed by other people handling it at the store. They also suggest that a rinse under cold water is more than enough to keep your food clean. Cleaning with soaps or detergents may leave soap residues instead. There are a few veggie and fruit cleaning products that are all natural and safe to clean your food.

Pesticides are not a concern since any residue would not be on the surface of the food anyway. This means that whether your eating conventional grown foods or organic will make no difference, you still need to give them a quick rinse.

» Your Total Health