While many consumers are betting on white vinegar or baking soda to clean their fruits and vegetables, the real efficiency of these tips against pesticide residues arouses questions among experts and health authorities.
TL; Dr
- Ineffective vinegar and bicarbonate against all pesticides.
- Peeling better eliminates residues on the skin.
- Only organic really limits internal pesticides.
Omnipresent substances in food
Difficult today to imagine a basket of fruits and vegetables free from any chemical product. Agricultural industrialization, which began in the last century, favored the massive use of pesticides, these allies deemed essential by many operators to defend crops against insects, diseases or other natural threats.
The key: more abundant harvests, but a substantive question on the inevitable presence of residues on our plates.
Vinegar and bicarbonate: limited efficiency
Many people, in search of simple solutions, bet on the duo vinegar-bicarbonate during washing. On social networks, like the Instagram account @prendsunfruitthis method is regularly discussed. However, its limits are pointed out:
- On fine skin fruits – especially red (except blueberry) – the effect remains marginal.
- It’s on products to “real skin(Apple, pear, fishing) that the technique shows a real benefit.
According to the narrator of the account, up to 90 % of pesticides de contact would thus be eliminated … but only on the surface. He specifies: “This tip only concerns the substances present on the skin, not those soaked in the flesh.»
Clear water or peeling: alternative to reduce risks?
Faced with these limits, the same account followed by more than 169,000 internet users nuance: washing with large water would already be as effective for thick skin and vegetables. To go even further in the residue hunting, he suggests opting for thepeelingthe only simple method likely to completely remove what remains on the surface.
Nevertheless, and this is where the shoe pinches, the real problem remains these chemical compounds diffused even in the flesh itself. Neither vinegar nor bicarbonate do not overcome it. These are precisely these internal pesticidesyet the majority according to certain experts, who raise questions about their regular ingestion.
Eat organic: the privileged solution?
In the end, the recommendation appears clear: to effectively limit exposure to pesticides present in the very pulp of food, it remains preferable to favor products from theorganic farming. Of course, this does not always guarantee a perfectly virgin food of any contaminating … But it is currently the option that would significantly reduce our daily exposure.
Between popular recipes circulating online and elementary precautions validated by specialists, each will therefore adapt their gestures to reconcile food pleasure and health vigilance.
