Experts Debunk Viral Fruit Washing Trends: Simple Hygiene Beats Fancy Sanitisers
In an era where social media influencers dominate lifestyle advice, a new trend has emerged on platforms like TikTok: elaborate rituals for sanitising fresh produce. Videos showcasing fruits and vegetables being soaked in sinks with baking soda, vinegar, or specialised soaps have garnered millions of views, often promoted with affiliate links. However, experts in food science and agriculture are urging caution, highlighting that these methods may be unnecessary and even detrimental to food quality.
The Risks of Over-Washing Soft Fruits
Rebecca Scurr, a fourth-generation fruit farm operator at Piñata Farms in Queensland, Australia, expresses concern over these viral trends. With over 26,000 TikTok followers, she shares insights from selling fruit professionally and notes that washing produce prematurely can harm its longevity. "Particularly if it’s something really soft, like a strawberry or raspberry – washing it when you’re not about to eat it is the worst possible thing for shelf life," Scurr explains. She emphasises that no fruit, including hardy varieties like apples, benefits from being washed and stored away, as moisture can accelerate spoilage.
Professor Enzo Palombo, an expert in food microbiology at Swinburne University of Technology, supports this view. He advises consumers to "be cautious, but don’t be paranoid." While acknowledging potential risks from pathogens like listeria or salmonella, Palombo stresses that the human body is designed to handle minor contaminants. "We tend to think we need to consume 100% sterile food – you don’t. Our body is designed to deal with these things, within reason," he says.
Proper Hygiene Practices for Produce
Dr. Rozita Vaskoska, who leads the CSIRO’s Microbial Food Systems group, recommends a straightforward approach: rinsing produce under cold running water just before consumption or cutting. This is crucial for items with rough skins, such as rock melons, which have been linked to listeria outbreaks due to difficult-to-clean surfaces. "The surface matters because as you cut it, the bacteria can move from the surface to inside in some instances," Vaskoska notes. She suggests using a clean dish brush for scrubbing such fruits.
For vegetables like cos lettuce, bok choy, or pre-packaged salads, thorough rinsing is essential to remove trapped dirt. Both experts highlight that immunocompromised individuals should take extra care with high-risk items. Palombo points out that contamination can occur during growth, from soil additives like chicken manure, or in supermarkets from handling by other shoppers. "You see people pressing all the mangoes, all the avocados; where have their hands been?" he questions.
The Ineffectiveness of Viral Cleaning Methods
Studies have examined various home-wash techniques, with mixed results. Research on apples found that baking soda can degrade some pesticides on the skin but is less effective for residues that penetrate deeper, where peeling is more reliable. Another study on lettuce compared methods like baking soda, lemon, and vinegars, showing that rice vinegar removed the most pesticides on average, but effectiveness varied widely, and tap water often performed similarly or better.
When it comes to microorganisms, washing lettuce in water reduces bacterial load but does not eliminate all risks. Vaskoska cautions against over-sterilising: "Sterilising produce might not even be desirable, as there may be positive health effects of being exposed to the natural plant microbiome." Palombo adds that while baking soda or vinegar might offer a deeper clean, they can alter the texture or quality of produce due to their acidic or alkaline properties.
The Golden Rule: Handwashing Over Hype
Both experts agree that the most critical step in food hygiene is often overlooked. "Wash your hands," Palombo asserts. "If you’ve come home from the shopping and you’ve touched things, you’ve got in your car, give your hands a wash and then put away your groceries. If most people follow that rule, 99% of the problems would disappear." He warns against being swayed by bold claims from specialised cleaning products, which often lack scientific backing.
In summary, while TikTok trends may promote aesthetic and elaborate cleaning rituals, experts advocate for simplicity and practicality. Proper hand hygiene and timely rinsing of produce are more effective than expensive sanitisers, ensuring both safety and quality without unnecessary waste or damage to fresh fruits and vegetables.
