Wash Your Veggies!
by
Sandy (Frog Pond Farm)

I hear often from people who believe that because they only buy
organic produce they're safe from contamination worries. I have even heard from some that they feel so safe they don't wash the produce. This could be a HUGE mistake.

I grow organic fruit and veggies. We have not used a drop of chemical fertilizer or pesticide in the entire time we've lived here. But I scrub it all to death.

Many, if not all, commercial organic produce farms use animal-based fertilizers. If the manure is not properly aged, it can be a major source of various kinds of contamination - including e.coli.

But, surprisingly enough, the most pervasive danger in organic produce is pesticides. I would suppose that every apple, every tomato, every bit of food we grow has pesticides on the surface.

The distance between an organic field and a neighboring treated field is often a matter of yards. Pesticide drift is measured in MILES. It wafts on the breeze and leaks from passing crop dusters.

So even if you're eating produce labelled 100% organic - even if you grew it yourself and KNOW it's 100% organic - please get a good vegetable scrubber and use it.

End of lecture.