Q: Should I wash supermarket fruit before I eat it?

A: In general my advice is to wash fruit and vegetables before you eat it to avoid the risk of exposure to toxins, chemicals and pesticide residues which your body doesn’t want or need and which have been linked to an increased risk of poor health and infertility.

 

If you can buy organic produce you don’t risk exposure to unnecessary toxins and chemicals but it’s still a good idea to wash your fruit before you eat it as you have no idea who has been handling the fruit or what dirt they may have collected along the way. Supermarkets often state on their packaging whether a fruit or vegetable is washed and ready to eat but my advice remains the same as with organic produce; wash first then eat.

 

Having said that eating the occasional unwashed fruit won’t do you any harm but you do need to be really careful if you are pregnant, elderly or in poor health as your immune system is vulnerable and there is a risk of food poisoning and infection. Another risk is toxoplasmosis which can cause serious damage to an unborn baby so if you are pregnant or hoping to be make sure you always wash fruit and vegetables before eating.

This entry was posted on Friday, February 1st, 2008 at 4:30 pm and is filed under Ask Marilyn, General Health, Healthy Living. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.