The Best Way to Clean Produce

Do you know what the biggest source of food poisoning is?

If you said food-borne illness from contaminated produce, you were right! So, you can see why it’s of utmost importance to take special care when cleaning the produce you feed your family and yourself.

Thankfully, Susan Sumner, a scientist at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, invented a non-toxic, economical method of cleaning produce that not only removes residual pesticides, it kills virtually all Salmonella, Shigella, and E. coli bacteria.

What’s more, this method is more effective at killing potentially lethal bacteria than chlorine bleach or any commercially available kitchen cleaner—and it’s much more economical than most products.

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

All you need is vinegar (either white or apple cider), three percent hydrogen peroxide (the type you get at your drug store), and two spray bottles.

THE METHOD

First, mist vinegar on your produce, then spray the peroxide—or vice versa. The order doesn’t matter. What “does” matter, though, is that you mist one right after the other, as studies have shown that this is 10 times more effective than using either spray by itself.

Next, soak your produce in cool water for a couple of minutes and rinse.

DON’T COMBINE

It’s also a good idea to label the bottles and never combine the two liquids. Not only could combining the two be harmful, but it’s also much less effective when it comes to killing pathogens.

Looking for a more effective, non-toxic and economical way to clean your counters and cutting boards? Use the same method.