they often contain large amounts of pesticides, preservatives and other chemicals on their skin. To get rid of them, it is not enough to rinse the fruit under running water. A better solution is to prepare a simple home-made solution.
Many organizations undertake research to determine which fruits are most contaminated. The American Environmental Working Group (EWG) shares its results every year and publishes reports on pesticide residues in food.
Fruits that have a high pesticide content usually include those with thin skin or those susceptible to pest attacks, which therefore require strong chemical protection. Based on reports published over the years, The most contaminated fruits include:
- apples,
- strawberries,
- pears,
- grapes,
- blueberries,
- raspberries,
- citrus fruits,
- peaches.
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Now that you know which ones are among the most polluted, you should also be aware of how to clean them so as not to harm your health. It is very important to remove pesticides, preservatives and other chemicals from them before we eat them.
Usually we simply wash them under running water, but in the case of the above fruits it may not be enough. Especially when we are talking about fruits with uneven skin, such as strawberries, apples or grapes.
In that case, it’s best reach for baking soda and create a solution from itwhich will allow us to clean fruit cheaply and effectively. This is a good method because baking soda effectively removes even pesticides that are difficult to wash off. In addition, it is non-toxic and completely safe for our healthand can also be used for most fruits, both those with rough and smooth skin.
Preparing the baking soda solution itself is simple and will not take much time, and thanks to this we will be sure that our fruit-based meals are safe for our health. Enough is enough pour 1 liter of lukewarm water into the bowl. Add 1-2 teaspoons of baking soda to it and mix thoroughly so that the product dissolves well.
Then we put the fruit in the solution for about 15 minutes. After this time, rub them gently with your hands and rinse them under running water.
However, let us remember that this method only works on contaminants located on the surface. It will not remove substances that penetrate deep into the fruit and appear when the thin skin is damaged. Therefore, it is worth choosing ecological products in the store that have limited use of chemicals.
