Taking advantage of the fear, many individuals, shops and suppliers are claiming to provide ‘sanitized’ or ‘disinfected’ fruits and vegetables.
TOI conducted a fact check of this and found there is simply no need to use soap, chemicals or sanitizers to wash vegetables.
According to her, washing fruits and vegetables with water gets 90-99% of germs out.
“We provide farm fresh fruits and vegetables. We ensure least human contact by curtailing supply chain from farm to consumer. But, we don’t use any chemical or disinfectant to wash fruits/vegetables. People should also not use such things to clean vegetables,” said Archana Singh, supply manager of a home delivery web app.
“Our aim is to keep our consumers safe by ensuring they get hygienic, healthy fruits and vegetables delivered at home. We ensure all major precautions like sanitizing hands, wearing gloves and mask, screening of every worker before delivering goods. With this, we can claim that we are providing sanitized vegetables,” said Sandeep, who runs a farm to home app in city.
TOI also scanned the guidelines provided by authorities like World Health Organization, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, and even US FDA. No health authority has recommended use of disinfectants while washing vegetables and fruits.
No evidence that people can catch Covid-19 from fruits and vegetables.
Then wash fruits and vegetables thoroughly with clean water, especially if you eat them raw.
Keep recently purchased fruits and vegetables in their packaging itself in an isolated corner of house for some time.
There’s no need to use soap Use a clean vegetable brush to scrub melons and cucumbersDry produce with a clean cloth or paper towel to further reduce bacteria that may be presentRemove outermost leaves of a head of lettuce or cabbage.