Removing pesticides from fruits & vegetables

Answer:

When testing for pesticides, the FDA washes and peels fruits and veggies just like you would, and more than 93 percent of the conventionally grown apples tested still had pesticides on them after being washed. There's a growing consensus in the scientific community that these low-level exposures, especially during fetal development and childhood, can have lasting effects.

The best way to minimize your exposure to toxic pesticides is to wash your fruits and veggies thoroughly in cold water, eat a varied diet, and buy organic produce whenever possible. Prioritize your spending on organic by buying the foods your family eats the most often, and those on the Dirty Dozen list, only eat organic.

This vinegar and salt wash http://cheryl-beck.suite101.com/homemade-fruit-and-vegetable-wash-is-easy-to-make-a239176 or vinegar plus a safe-ish low chemical detergent (like Seventh Generation) looks like the best for removing residues to me.

Personally, about 90 to 95 percent of our veggies and fruits are organic certified or grown by growers I know and trust, who do not use chemicals at all, though some growers are not certified.. For items on the Dirty Dozen, my children are not allowed to consume them if they are not available organic. Avocados and Bananas, Sweet Potatoes, Mushrooms, etc are pretty safe, and not usually available organic, so we eat them. But, for APPLES, Grapes and Strawberries, Cherries, and other high pesticide foods not available organic, my poor kids have only been allowed one or two grapes at a playgroup or friend's house a few occasions, for instance. When the Organic Farm people had organic grapes for the first time, last fall, we really enjoyed it! Strawberries are in season now, and we are enjoying them often as well. When the season ends, and the one supplier does not have them anymore, we will not have them until next year. They often put an antifungal, highly toxic red gel onto the strawberries here, and sometimes evem inject them with various sugar solutions, in addition to the chemicals used in the growing.

Answered by Liora Pearlman, Moderator of the Beijing Organic Consumer's Association (BOCA)