Explore ElizabethYarnell.com

Skip to content
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Books
  • Health & Wellness Speaker
  • Food Sensitivities?
  • Shop
  • More…
Elizabeth Yarnell, Author, Innovator, Naturopath, Speaker
Rescue Your Health Today! 303-830-2665

There is so much to see! Go to blog navigation →

Or start with this most recent post:

Wash Produce Before Cutting Through the Skin

Posted on August 23, 2012 in Living naturally, Nutrition in the news | 133 Views

Last week, at our annual summer family reunion, I was asked why I was I was washing the avocados before slicing them open to make guacamole. Washing all produce before cutting into it is a basic foundation of modern kitchen hygiene, but many people operate under the false assumption that fruits and vegetables with peels and rinds are exempt. This can be a dangerous mistake.

Bacteria, pathogens, pesticides, and grime can be carried by the knife blade from the skin and onto the flesh of your produce, contaminating the food you serve. As I’ve mentioned before regarding last summer’s listeria deaths from unwashed cantaloupes, washing the rind or peel before cutting into an item is the only way to prevent contamination of the flesh from the knife blade.

Even organic fruits and veggies should be washed first, preferably using a food-safe soap like Fit Veggie Wash or one you make yourself out of baking soda and vinegar or lemon juice, and then rinsed well.

Common produce items that people might mistakenly think are ok to skip washing include:

  • Citrus fruits like lemons, limes, oranges, and grapefruits. Don’t overlook that lime wedge you’re squeezing and then dropping into your drink where it can transfer all of its contaminants to the liquid and into your body.
  • Avocados
  • Pineapples
  • Melons
  • Artichokes
  • Winter squash (pumpkins, acorn, etc.)
  • Bananas, when are sliced with a knife
  • Kiwis

Don’t forget to wash your hands, too, after handling unwashed produce and before preparing your food, to avoid spreading any undesired contaminants into the rest of your food or household.

Can you think of any other fruits and veggies that people routinely think are safe to cut into without washing first?

→ As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I also may use affiliate links elsewhere in my site.

Posted in Living naturally, Nutrition in the news | Tagged how to avoid listeria on cantaloupe, safe produce handling, Veggie Wash, why wash vegetables

Related Posts

Avoid Many Food-Based Pathogens and Wash Produce Before Cutting→

Why you should wash your melons→

Staying Safe from Foodborne Pathogens→

Are Bagged Salad Greens Clean and Safe?→

Subscribe to Elizabeth’s Blog

Get blog posts right to your inbox. Unsubscribe at any time.

Name

Email


Check out my book!

Glorious One-Pot Meals

Buy It Now! »

Effortless Topics

  • Allergy-free Foods
  • Autoimmune
  • Books
  • Cooking demonstrations
  • Effortless Eating
  • Events
  • food sensitivities
  • Glorious One-Pot Meals
  • Guest post
  • Kids
  • Living naturally
  • Mental Health
  • Misc.
  • Multiple Sclerosis
  • Natural Health Questions
  • Natural remedies
  • Nutrition in the news
  • Parasites
  • Recipes
  • Recommended Products
  • The Inflammation Influence
  • Uncategorized
  • Weight loss

My Multiple Sclerosis Story

The Fight MS with Food Project

What if you could change your life simply by changing your diet?
Tweets by @ElizabethYarnel

Popular Posts

  • Missing image

    Apple Juice Colon Cleanse

    52553 views / Posted August 16, 2008
  • Homemade Natural Carpet Shampoo/Cleaner for Carpet Cleaning Machines

    51219 views / Posted September 24, 2013
  • Missing image

    Playing In the Grass Makes Me Itchy: Natural Relief for Itching, Rashes

    41600 views / Posted May 22, 2013
  • Missing image

    Plantar Warts

    36806 views / Posted August 30, 2007
  • Missing image

    Oat-based Aussie Bites Are Treats for the Gluten-free Soul

    25196 views / Posted December 29, 2013

Sites I Like

  • Beautycounter clean beauty products
  • Conversations With My Mother
  • Positive Health Wellness
  • Elana’s Pantry
  • The Savory Spice Shop
verified by healthprofs.com verified by healthprofs.com Directory
natural food blogs

Menu

  • Book a Complimentary Naturopathic Health Assessment!
  • About
  • Contact
  • Elizabeth Yarnell Events
  • Natural Healthcare
  • Articles for Reprint
  • Media Room
  • Affiliate Program
  • Nutritional Counts
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclaimers | Terms | Policies | Site Info
  • Digistars® STEAM Programs
  • Sign up for my newsletter!
Amazon icon Book Bub icon Booksprout icon Email icon Facebook icon Goodreads icon Instagram icon Periscope icon Pinterest icon RSS icon Snapchat icon Tumblr icon Twitter icon Vine icon Youtube icon

Copyright 2023   •   Amazon Affiliate Disclaimer   •   Privacy

We use cookies in this website. Read about them in our cookies policy. To disable them, configure your browser properly. If you keep using this website, you are accepting those.
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT

Interesting Image
Keep in touch with Elizabeth!
Elizabeth Yarnell and Pomegranate Consulting will never sell or share your information and you can unsubscribe at any time using the link at the bottom of every email. See our Privacy Policy for more details.

Pro Tip

Our email may sometimes go to your spam/promotions tab, but there's a solution for that.
Look for your confirmation email and add info@elizabethyarnell.com to your contacts to make sure you receive the latest emails. If you use Gmail, drag the confirmation email to your "Primary" tab.


Click here to read the Privacy Policy.