What is clean food? Here are some safe ways to clean vegetables, tubers, fruits, should housewives know.

Depending on the type of leafy vegetables, root, fruit or flower, you should have your own way of washing. Clean vegetables most when washed under clean water.

Experts on vegetables recommend that, if not washed properly, dirty vegetables will still be completely dirty. Do not think fresh products are safe, contain no pathogens. In fact, fresh fruit and fruit products can still carry germs.

Mistakes when washing vegetables:

Many people believe that vegetables only need to wash 2-3 water is clean, when cooking, bacteria and parasites will die.  According to Dr. Phan Thanh Tam, Department of Food Technology - Post-harvest, Institute of Food Biotechnology, Hanoi University of Science and Technology, if only 2-3 water is washed, it is difficult to eliminate the maximum of dirty impurities. such as soil, garbage, parasites or microorganisms and chemical compounds such as pesticides, pesticides ... that the naked eye cannot see.

- Fruit and vegetable washing water: In addition to salt water for vegetables and fruits, housewives also know the water to wash fruits and vegetables currently sold in the market. The main ingredients of these solutions are usually deionized water, citric acid, sodium, flavoring ... However, this type of vegetable wash water cannot remove all bacteria in vegetables. According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoa, Head of Hanoi Plant Protection Department, these fruit washes are not medicinal herbs that can eliminate 100% of toxic chemicals in fruits and vegetables.

 Vegetable washing water can quickly remove stains and some toxic chemicals on the surface of "unsafe" vegetables, while pesticides often penetrate deep inside. When fruits are deeply absorbed by toxic chemicals, the cleaning water cannot be effective. For fruits and vegetables that are sprayed for a long time, the medicine penetrates deep inside, washing water is almost ineffective. This is not to mention, now, plant protection drugs have a lot of active ingredients as well as many brands. Each type has its own properties, some active ingredients can wash this fruit and vegetable, cannot be washed in other vegetables.

- Fruit and vegetable washing machines: Can also be counterproductive: Currently there are many types of vegetable washing machines with ozone. According to Mr. Duong Minh Tri, Deputy Director of Ho Chi Minh City Institute of Physics, ozone is a very toxic gas, can cause cancer. According to that principle, ozone cannot be used in families, kitchens. In order to clean up the pesticides and toxic substances in vegetables and fruits, the machines using this ozone aeration technology must reach the concentration of ozone in the water. But when there is enough antiseptic concentration or may not be enough, the gas will also escape to the kitchen so it will directly affect the health of the housewife.

On the other hand, according to science, do not use ozone into chlorinated water, because it can create a new toxic compound that is durable. While the current tap water contains quite a lot of chlorine.

Principle of washing each kind vegetables, tubers, fruits:

According to experts, green vegetables are divided into 4 types: leaves, fruits, tubers and flowers. Each type will be at risk of contamination, pollution of different water sources, so when washing, it is necessary to classify to clean.

Leafy vegetables are classified as the most polluted and high risk of cholera due to the high concentration of E.Coli and Salmonella bacteria from watering fresh feces directly onto leaves. Therefore, when buying, pick up clean vegetables, soak them in water and start washing each leaf and stalk under the hose. Small branches like spinach ... have to be washed several times, then wash each small piece with the fist under the faucet. The best way to remove cholera is to immerse it in water. A basin of water is about 10 liters, just for a teaspoon (a small spoon) of salt soaked for 5 minutes.

Fruits: Fruit susceptible to pesticides due to premature harvests that have not expired drug or pollution isolation. When buying, you should not eat immediately according to the habit of Vietnamese people. Wash each fruit and wrap nylon into the refrigerator and eat after 2 days. In this way, fruits and vegetables still ensure freshness and have time to decompose. Fruits to be eaten immediately should be washed under water and salted.

Tubers:  are generally safer, so there is no need for salt water or potassium permanganate. When preparing processing, wash clean and peel. This way of limiting the impurities outside the tubers into the peeled flesh.

Flower-eating vegetables: are considered to be the most hygienic. Flowers are often on high ground and are very afraid of direct pesticides or spray, which is very difficult to get dirty. When spraying, growers have to use the leaf cover, so processing only need to wash clean flowers under the faucet to ensure safety.

Spices vegetables: All kinds of spices such as onions, dill, or smooth pods like tomatoes, eggplant, and fresh peppers ... also need to be cleaned like other vegetables because many places of onion cultivation are even more dirty than vegetables. they can irrigate fresh manure ... so the risk of parasite infection is very high.

The fastest way to remove bacteria:

- Wash everything, including products that have been "labeled" as "always eaten" or "washed before eating." Remember that even if you peel or shave off the outer layer, germs, dirt, pesticides ... on the surface can still spread to what you end up eating.

- Wash vegetables under clean water: Use tap water, use cold water better. With soft fruits or vegetables, rub lightly for half a minute to a minute. The hard-to-brush products use brushes suitable for brushing.

- Do not use soap, detergents, bleaches: These substances may enter the product. Nothing can guarantee these substances help make fruits and vegetables cleaner than other washing methods.

- Wash thoroughly: Make sure after washing the fruits and vegetables are clean, there are no wrinkles and crevices left, remove damaged parts, and leaves outside ...

- Dry fruits and vegetables: Use a clean paper towel to dry the fruit to remove any remaining bacteria after washing.

Simple method to reduce pesticides:

According to nutrition expert, Dr. Cao Thi Hau, to achieve high productivity or to kill pests, especially for some vegetables and fruits prone to pests, some farmers have used too much chemical fertilizer or pesticide spraying to the date of harvest, non-compliance with the time prohibition of spraying pesticides before harvest as prescribed. On the other hand, some vegetables grown in contaminated soil, fresh manure or dirty waste water are also a serious threat to consumers' health. Therefore, to reduce the content of pesticides in vegetables, you need:

1. Soak vegetables in clean water for 5-10 minutes to wash or use rice water to soak, aiming to neutralize toxins in pesticides.

2. Use 5% salt water to wash vegetables.

3. Cucumbers, eggplant or fruits with a high concentration of pesticides are best washed, peeled and eaten.

4. Heating at high temperatures also makes decomposition pesticides, some heat-resistant vegetables such as cauliflower, beans, vegetables need ... after washing, blanching with hot water 2 minutes to make pesticides 30% reduction, then cooking at high temperatures, thus eliminating 90% of pesticides.

5. Sunlight makes the amount of pesticides on vegetables broken, resolved. To vegetables in the sun for 5 minutes, the amount of pesticides left on vegetables such as organic mercury, organic chlorine reduced by about 60%.