Using Soap and Detergent to Clean Produce
You might think that soap cleans everything better, but when it comes to fruits and vegetables, you’re actually creating a bigger problem. The FDA strongly advises against washing fruits and vegetables with soap, detergent, or commercial produce wash. Here’s the surprising truth: produce is porous, and soap and household detergents can be absorbed by fruits and vegetables, despite thorough rinsing, and can make you sick. Even food safety professionals sometimes make this mistake when they’re in a hurry. The residues left behind from soaps aren’t just unpleasant to taste—they could actually harm you. The FDA has not evaluated the safety of residues left from soaps and detergents if ingested. Think of your apple’s skin like a sponge that soaks up whatever you put on it, including chemicals that were never meant to be eaten.
Washing Pre-Washed Produce Again
This might shock you, but rewashing that bag of triple-washed salad greens could actually make you sicker than not washing them at all. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) does not recommend washing “pre-washed” produce again at home, and if you do wash the produce, you actually have a greater chance of contaminating it from your own sink. Your kitchen sink sees raw meat juices, dirty dishes, and countless bacteria throughout the day. Sinks—where we wash our hands and raw meat—can be breeding grounds for pathogens unless they’re meticulously cleaned. When you rinse pre-washed lettuce in that same sink, you’re potentially introducing new contamination to food that was already cleaned in sterile commercial facilities. The packaging facilities use extremely stringent guidelines that far exceed what most home kitchens can achieve. Many food safety experts admit they’ve made this error themselves, thinking they were being extra cautious.
Using Hot Water Instead of Cold
Hot water seems like it would kill more germs, right? Wrong—and this mistake could literally open the door for bacteria to crawl inside your food. Either soaking produce for more than a minute or two or rinsing in hot water can invite bacteria in, because the skins of fruits and vegetables are actually kind of like our skin—they have pores that open up and start absorbing in warm or wet conditions. When you use hot water, you’re essentially forcing those pores open, which allows whatever contamination exists in your water or sink to penetrate deeper into the produce. Cold water keeps those natural barriers intact while still removing surface dirt and debris. Even experienced chefs and food safety consultants sometimes grab the hot water tap out of habit, not realizing they’re potentially making their produce less safe. The contrast is stark: cold water cleans the outside, while hot water might contaminate the inside.
Forgetting to Wash Fruits You’ll Peel
Here’s a mistake that even seasoned food safety experts make: skipping the wash on oranges, bananas, and melons because “I’m just going to peel them anyway.” But you should wash or scrub fruits and vegetables under running water—even if you do not plan to eat the peel, because germs on the peel or skin can get inside fruits and vegetables when you cut them. Picture this: when your knife slices through that unwashed cantaloupe rind, it’s dragging every bit of dirt, bacteria, and pesticide residue straight through the flesh you’re about to eat. You should rinse produce BEFORE you peel it, so dirt and bacteria aren’t transferred from the knife onto the fruit or vegetable. This is such a common oversight that food safety professionals often catch themselves doing it during busy meal prep. The exterior of fruits and vegetables can harbor dangerous pathogens like E. coli and Salmonella that originated from contaminated soil or water during growing.
Soaking Produce for Too Long
Many people think that letting fruits and vegetables sit in water for 10 or 15 minutes will make them cleaner, but you’re actually creating a bacterial breeding ground. Extended soaking, especially in standing water, gives harmful microorganisms time to multiply and potentially penetrate the produce’s natural protective barriers. Fresh produce should not be washed until right before you’re ready to eat it, as washing fruits and vegetables before storing them may create an environment in which bacterial growth is more likely. The moisture from prolonged soaking can also break down the produce’s cellular structure, making it more susceptible to contamination. Even food safety experts sometimes get distracted and leave their vegetables soaking while they handle other kitchen tasks. The ideal washing time is just 15 to 20 seconds under running water—quick enough to remove surface contaminants but not long enough to compromise the produce’s natural defenses.
Not Scrubbing Firm Produce with a Brush
This is where many people—including food industry professionals—get lazy with their produce cleaning routine. You should use a clean vegetable brush to scrub firm produce, such as melons and cucumbers. The textured surface of melons, potatoes, and root vegetables can harbor bacteria in tiny crevices that running water alone simply can’t reach. Use a vegetable brush on fruits and vegetables that can withstand the scrubbing, including cucumbers, potatoes, citrus fruits, cantaloupe, watermelon, beets, and carrots. Think about how many hands have touched that cantaloupe and where it’s been sitting before it reached your kitchen. A gentle scrub with a clean brush can remove stubborn dirt, wax coatings, and bacteria that would otherwise end up in your fruit salad. Even professional chefs sometimes skip this step when they’re rushing through prep work, but it’s one of the most effective ways to ensure your produce is truly clean.
Believing Expensive Produce Washes Are Better Than Water
Here’s the truth that might save you money and make your food safer: those fancy produce washes you see at the grocery store aren’t any more effective than plain tap water. The safety of the residues of commercial produce washes is not known and their effectiveness has not been tested. It’s best to avoid produce washes because they’re not well-regulated in the US—there’s no actual testing going on with these products to verify the safety of them and make sure they’re not doing more harm than good, and studies also suggest produce washes aren’t significantly more effective than plain water. Many food safety professionals have fallen into the marketing trap of thinking expensive means better. Based on the body of evidence we currently have available, water alone is still the best way to clean fresh produce—there’s no real advantage to using vinegar or baking soda. Some of these commercial washes might even leave their own residues on your food, potentially creating new safety concerns while failing to provide any additional cleaning benefit.
