Do I need to use a vegetable cleaner? 3 facts about pesticide residues that you can't know

In recent years, there is often a problem of pesticide abuse in the agricultural field, so that many people are worried that the vegetables and fruits they buy have pesticide residues, and many merchants have introduced fruit and vegetable detergents. However, can you really wash away pesticide residues with detergent?

Do you need detergent to wash fruits and vegetables? Picture from Vision China

1. Fruit and vegetable detergents are not effective

Principle of action of fruit and vegetable detergent: The surfactant can make water-insoluble pesticides easily soluble in water, so that they can be washed away by water. The problem is that pesticides are organic, inorganic, acidic, alkaline, insecticidal, bactericidal and many other types. Can a detergent really wash away all pesticides?

Are fruit and vegetable detergents effective against all pesticides? Picture from Vision China

In the United States, many detergents are also advertised as removing pesticide residues better than water. For this reason, many studies have been conducted by universities and government departments in the United States. They did a lot of comparative tests on tap water and fruit and vegetable detergents, and found that there was no significant difference in the effect of washing fruits and vegetables with fruit and vegetable detergents and water.

Fruit and vegetable detergent has the same effect as water. The picture comes from Vision China.

They also found that the ease with which these pesticides wash off has little to do with their solubility and is largely removed by mechanical motion during washing. Therefore, washing fruit with fruit and vegetable detergent is not much better than water, and it is also necessary to worry about the residue of detergent. When washing fruits and vegetables at ordinary times, rinse them under tap water for a while, accompanied by scrubbing.

Fruits and vegetables can be washed in clean water. The picture comes from Vision China.

2. Pesticide residue problem is not serious

From time to time, the news of excessive pesticide residues in certain vegetables broke out in the media, which inevitably made people frightened. They felt that all kinds of vegetables were unsafe and worried about eating vegetables. There are two main reasons for pesticide residue problems:

1. Farmers lack knowledge of pesticide use and overuse in large quantities;

2. Farmers illegally spray pesticides near the harvest period of fruits and vegetables, and pesticides in fruits and vegetables are too late to degrade;

Illegal use of pesticides, pictures from Vision China

In fact, regular large supermarkets and fruits and vegetables on the market must be tested for pesticide residues, not exceeding the standard before they can be sold on the market. Therefore, as long as you buy in regular large supermarkets and fruit and vegetable markets, you don't have to worry too much about pesticides exceeding the standard. On the contrary, it is the home-grown vegetables sold by the roadside, and the lack of supervision risks are greater.

Large-scale supermarket is not a big problem. The picture comes from Visual China.

Moreover,"pesticide residue detected" does not necessarily mean "harmful to health". Any pesticide needs to accumulate in a certain amount before it can cause harm. At present, pesticides with high toxicity and difficult degradation are gradually banned and replaced by pesticides with low toxicity and fast degradation. Therefore, the negative impact of pesticide residues will become smaller and smaller. We don't have to worry too much about the risk of pesticide residues.

3. Some fruits and vegetables have fewer pesticide residues

Of course, although pesticide residues are not a big problem, we must still want to know which vegetables and fruits have less pesticide residues_eat less if you can.

Generally speaking, pesticide residues in fruits are less than those in vegetables. The ranking of pesticide residues in vegetables from high to low is beans> solanaceous fruits> cabbage> green leafy vegetables> potato roots> onions and garlic> melons and mushrooms.

The pesticide residue content of vegetables and fruits is different. The picture comes from Vision China.

Cowpea, beans, green beans and other beans, tomatoes and other solanaceous fruits and cabbage, spinach and other leafy vegetables have relatively high pesticide residues, which is due to their vulnerability to diseases and insect pests, and pesticides are directly sprayed on the surface of edible parts, with large surface area and rapid pesticide absorption.

Beans such as kidney beans have the most pesticide residues. The picture comes from Visual China.

Potato, sweet potato, lotus root and other edible parts buried in the soil, and do not directly contact pesticides, so there is little residue; onion garlic and other spices taste spicy, can drive away pests, do not need to use too much pesticide insecticide, so there is less residue.

There are few pesticide residues in potato, onion and garlic. The picture comes from Vision China.

Melons such as wax gourd and pumpkin have strong disease resistance and pest resistance, so they don't need to spray pesticides; mushrooms such as mushrooms and needle mushrooms can artificially control their growth environment, and mushrooms are sensitive to pesticides, so they don't use pesticides.

Melons and fungi have the least pesticide residues. The picture comes from Vision China.

Of course, there are vegetables that do not use pesticides at all, that is, organic vegetables that are very popular now. Qualified organic vegetables must be certified by the organic food certification agency and issued with an organic food certificate.

Organic vegetables, pictures from Yiguo official website

You don't have to worry about whether to buy fruit and vegetable detergent, wash it well under clean water, and wash it seriously. Pesticide residue problem is not serious, really worried, buy organic vegetables.

The article comes from Yiguo. com.