'Wash before use'

Daisy I think it's because they have chlorine on them to help preserve them, or the packaging has gas pumped into it for the same reason. A good enough reason for me to not buy prepared veg!!

I only rinse and dry fruit and veg that we are going to eat raw and unpeeled. Everything else is cooked so I don't see the need. That said I knew someone who used to wash bananas and oranges!

It's one of those instructions that Health & Safety rules says food packets have to have on them, presumably so they can't be blamed if someone has diarrhoea after eating unwashed lettuce.

Unless cabbage (for instance) actually has soil on it, I don't wash it unless we're going to eat it raw. If it's either going in hot water/steam or hot fat, those will deal with any lurking unfriendly bacteria just as well as, or better than, a pre-wash in cold water.

Obviously most of us are too stupid to work this out for ourselves so we have to be told like kids.

A quick swill under a cold tap with the exception of mushrooms.

I'm in the 'only wash if eating it raw' camp and if it's something like an apple, it's a very quick wetting.

I only wash food we are eating raw as well, but I do wash and prepare foods such as cauliflower, broccoli, greeto put into the steamer to cook

I usually wash anything that's eaten raw too including bagged salad which says ready to eat on it - I was once told by someone who grew salad food that the lettuce is washed in water with chlorine in it. I've also seen apples have a wax over them so usually peel them - apart from the fact my teeth won't go through the skin

Drinking water is chlorinated so washing fruit and veg to remove chlorine is a 'fruitless' enterprise teehee! I've heard that lettuce is the most frequently sprayed vegetable in the fight against spoilage by pests so I wash it fairly vigorously in my salad spinner. I don't usually wash soft fruit because it seems to encourage mould. I don't wash but do dry Morrison's prepackaged carrots because they go really manky in the fridge if left in their original bag. Sainsbury carrots don't seem to suffer the same.

If you feel you need to wash soft fruit, just wash it immediately before eating to avoid mould forming.

I don't bother washing vegetables that are going to be cooked, either, but I always fish them out of the water with a slotted spoon rather than tip them into a colander and then pour the water containing any dirt that came off "in the wash" over the top of the now clean veg.

Ditto washing salad - I fish it out of the water rather than tipping the lot out - again, any dirt that has come off will land back on top of the clean leaves.

There is a point to washing oranges if you have a juicer like ours. It's a rather primitive one from Turkey (a present from DS who spent a semester at Uni there), and the juice runs down the outside of the peel - quite a messy affair, but fun to do! As oranges come from quite a way away and are handled a lot en route, I prefer to think they're washed before going through that procedure.

I heard that strawberries are sprayed at least forty times during the growing period, making it one of the most sprayed items. There's a good reason to grow your own, tasty too.

What's supposed to happen if you don't wash anything?

Blinko you'd be ingesting pesticides that had been sprayed on the produce?

I generally wash fruit. veg that have to be peeled don't get washed.
I do know someone who washes milk containers before putting them in her fridge.

I suppose that's true, MiniMouse. I do wash anything that's actually dirty, like leeks, cabbage and the like. Perhaps I should start....

Nips mum I wipe bottom of milk container before putting them in fridge they are often very dirty . I wash fruit before eating and salad even in ready to eat have seen creepy craw lies in salad .?

May be I'm not as good as I should be about washing fruit/veg. However I do try to wash anything that is being eaten raw although do admit to not always washing grapes. When you think about it when we peel an unwashed orange or banana the dirt/germs on the skin goes onto our hands and then most of us eat the fruit without further washing of our hands. Just how far do you go trying to get it right?
My greatest food 'hang up' is making sure everything is thoroughly cooked which can make some things a bit too well done! Does anyone else have this problem?

Bags of ready washed salad can become wet and smelly if it's not all used at once,I put a folded piece of clean white kitchen roll inside the bag and reseal with a plastic clip,it keeps for longer!

I am caring for four grandsons age 2,6,8 & 9. There is no one I know in a similar situation, no real support. Is there any one out there doing the same?

Two rinses in cold water, in a bowl for me. I use the cooking water for gravy and I don't want dirt in it!

You may have the wrong thread Trudy.

Any veg cooking water left over after gravy making I force DH to drink. Or I might even drink it myself.

Oh, sorry Trudy. I think you might be wanting to start another thread. Y0u need to go to the Grandparenting forum click here

If I suggested DH might like to drink cabbage water I'd have to put a shot of vodka in it.

Oh hula ! I only buy ready to eat salad as I don't like the idea of creepy crawlies and thought it would be free of them. Now I'll be searching for them in ready washed