Disinfecting fruits and vegetables
Here in Mexico, we commonly use microbicidal solutions to disinfect fruits and vegetables at home before eating them. Surprisingly, this practice isn’t common elsewhere in North America, despite higher reported rates of domestic foodborne illness in the US (1 in 6 people annually) and Canada (1 in 8) than in Mexico (1 in 22). Curiously—and likely the result of xenophobic fears around sanitation in Mexico fanned by fearmongering press reports—our neighbors view Mexican produce as a vector for food poisoning. Perhaps if everyone disinfected their fruit and veg like we do, they would be less likely to fall ill from the foods they eat.
Regardless of where you live, it’s a good idea to disinfect your fresh produce before you start cooking. If you don’t have a microbicidal solution available, you can use chlorine bleach to prepare a solution to disinfect raw fruits and vegetables.
Important—read before you grab that bleach!
In order to safely use chlorine bleach to disinfect your fresh fruits and vegetables, it is essential to follow the guidelines summarized below.
1. Only use chlorine bleach categorized as a “food grade” substance. This means that it should be free of fragrances, thickening agents and other additives, which are not suitable for use in a microbicidal solution.
2. Only use bleach that states the percentage of sodium hypochlorite on the label. This is essential information in order to calculate how much bleach to add to your sanitizing solution (see below).
This jug of bleach clearly indicates that it contains 6.15% sodium hypochlorite.
3. The concentration of chlorine in your sanitizing solution should not be greater than 200 ppm (parts per million). To determine how much bleach to use, consult this calculator. I know that this sounds complicated, but trust me, it’s easier than it seems. Be sure to write down the formula so you’ll have it ready the next time you need it.
How to disinfect your fresh produce using chlorine bleach
1. Wash all visible traces of dirt from your produce and set aside.
2. Thoroughly clean and rinse your kitchen sink or a bowl large enough to contain the fruits and vegetables you want to disinfect.
3. Prepare your sanitizing solution by adding the correct amount of bleach (calculated following guideline #3 above) to enough potable water to cover your produce.
4. Place your produce in the sanitizing solution and let soak for five minutes.
5. Remove the disinfected produce from the sanitizing solution and let dry for a few minutes on a clean kitchen towel.
Note: If you’re troubled by the slight odor of bleach on the disinfected produce, you can do a quick final rinse in clean water.
6. And you’re done!
