The picture above is some produce that I just cleaned with mycrodyne, an iodine based cleaner. Here in Mexico most people soak fruits and vegetables for around 15 minutes, and then rinse them with purified water before putting them in the fridge. It’s important to do everything, even produce that will be peeled, since the peeling or cutting would drag dirt/germs from the outside of the produce into the meat.
Back in the US I would cram all the produce into the fridge when I got home from the store. I’d clean each item as I was going to use it. Or if I was in a hurry, maybe not!
Now anything that’s in the fridge is clean. Which is nice if you are in a hurry, or feeling lazy. And yes, I even do this to produce – like Washington State apples – that are grown in the US.
I know plenty of people who don´t bother cleaning their produce this way, and they haven´t had any problems. Perhaps my bout with salmonella last year has made me even more strict with how I handle the produce. At the very least the fruits and vegetables that grow in or close to the ground are important to clean well.
I’m not a clean-freak, and I hate the over use of antibacterial soap. But it just makes sense to have your healthy produce be clean, and in my opinion using microdyne is a good thing!
Brenda
January 18, 2009Several months ago we saw a report on CNN. They had cleaned veggies in several solutions. Water only, Microdyn only, and a Bleach solution. They found that the veggies cleaned in Microdyn were no cleaner than the ones that were cleaned in plain water. Their conclusion in their experiment was that the veggies cleaned in bleach solution were the cleanest.
I use purified water to wash our veggies, Roy uses tap water sometimes, I don’t do this and wouldn’t recommend it; but neither of us has been sick yet. Our landlady a mexican lady, uses microdyn as do a lot of people here.
lauronmextime
January 18, 2009I couldnt’ agree with you more – It MUST be better to clean our fruit and veggies, than not?? Think of all the hands that touch our food? Or the pesticides that get used??? All I know is it can’t be any worse, and your’e right… in a hurry it sure is nice 🙂 Ahhh…loove the fresh food at the markets!
American Mommy in Mexico
January 18, 2009We do this same routine!
Chris in Washington
January 18, 2009The two years we were in Mexico we did the same before putting any fresh fruits or veggies in the fridge. That way the fridge also stayed uncontaminated…hopefully. There were times when I wanted to get lazy and just stuff everything into the fridge and clean it all later, but I resisted the urge!
islagringo
January 19, 2009Call us lazy, but we clean our veggies as we need them. I wouldn’t have room in my refrigerator for the veggies we buy almost daily. Sometimes I use tap water and dish washing detergent! We do wash everything though. I have seen many a tomatoe lying on the floor in the store only to be tossed back into the bin. Oh, our Microdyn comes in a navy blue bottle.
Kate
January 19, 2009With all due respect to Brenda, I don’t believe everything I hear on cable news. I wouldn’t dream of eating fresh fruits and vegetables in Mexico without first giving them a Microdyne bath. Seems to make sense to me!!
Billie
January 19, 2009Nancy,
I’m with you. We clean it when we bring it home….in microdyne. The veggies that I’m especially careful with are things like lettuce, cilantro, leeks. I first take them apart as much as I can….with lettuce I break off each leaf and wash in tap water first. Then soak in microdyne. Better to over do it than be sorry.
Theresa in Mérida
January 19, 2009I wash produce as I use it, I use anti-bacterial soap and water.I like to let it air dry afterwards. I used to wash everything before putting it away, but I read somewhere that produce stores better if you store it in the produce bags and wash afterward. I used to use Microdyne until I read the label and found out it was colloidal silver instead of iodine.I looked everywhere for regular iodine and couldn’t find it! We did a stint with bleach water, and if anyone got sick I would go back to that.
regards,
Theresa
Expat in Mexico City
April 27, 2009We have lived in Mexico City for 3+ years now. Upon returning from the grocery store or mercado we wash (scrub) all fruits and veggies in dish soap and normal tap water and allow them to air dry. We only soak items in iodine that are either difficult to scrub or that will be eaten raw. We have not been sick once from food prepared in our home. I wouldn’t drink the water here, but people are way too obsessed with the notion of washing only in purified water. Use your own best judgement; but keep in mind, the most paranoid people we know here seem to get sick most often.