Q: what are fruit and vegetable washes supposed to do?

Vegetarian Times, April, 2005

A:

Remove dirt, waxes and chemical residues on produce--and yeah, they do that just fine. Thoroughly washing and scrubbing hard-skinned produce (think apples and pears) under a running tap, or soaking soft-skinned produce (peaches and berries) in a bowl of water is also still considered safe and effective by the Environmental Protection Agency. But if your water quality is iffy or if you're considered by health officials as "at risk" (very old or very young), using a fruit and vegetable wash might be a good idea. Messier but also effective: Dunk your produce in a rinse of 1 Tbs. bleach per gallon of water.