Should I bathe my veggies in hand sanitiser and other food safety myths, busted

Clean eating in the time of coronavirus

With each new offering from Whatsapp University, comes hours of scrolling through the internet to ensure that you’re taking all necessary precautions to keep Coronavirus from turning into a bin bulaya mehmaan.

A trip to the grocery store doesn’t just mean a bag full of bhaji, but also a head full of questions – What if I’m bringing the pandemic home with the karela? People say that soap kills the virus, should I put the hand wash to better use? Or should I take Mrs. Sharma’s advice and give Veggie Clean a go?

But before you throw your veggies into the washing machine for a good scrub, we decided to bust some myths about how to disinfect fruits and vegetables.

Is it safe to disinfect fruits and vegetables by washing them with soap?

Soap might be great when it comes to disinfecting your hands, but the same is not true for groceries. “There are no recommendations to use detergents and soap. In fact, it may be harmful as these detergents may get absorbed by the food item,” says Dr Jinendra Jain, Internal Medicine Expert and Diabetes Specialist, Wockhardt Hospital.

Ingesting soap might also lead to other health issues such as nausea, vomiting, and even diarrhoea.

So leave the soap for your hands, and turn to chemical-free alternatives, like Veggie Clean which is made from 100% natural ingredients derived from coconut and corn, and not chlorine, alcohol or harmful chemicals.

Will home remedies do the trick and effectively disinfect fresh produce?

Using turmeric water to rinse vegetables or dunking produce in salt water are some home remedies that are doing the rounds, but are they actually effective?

While they have been used as natural disinfectants in Indian households for ages, there’s no scientific proof to suggest they can kill off the coronavirus.

Says Veggie Clean’s celebrity chef Ranveer Brar, “Despite knowing the risk that comes with fresh food changing many hands, we wash them with water or proxies like salt, which are not as effective in removing the impurities or worse, with non-food grade detergents and sanitizers.”

To ensure you’re taking all precautions, it’s best to use certified cleansers like Veggie Clean — which has not only been certified by Indian government bodies (GMP Labs) but also international bodies like SC Australia.

Does the temperature of water that we are using to rinse the vegetables make a difference?

An advisory put out by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) suggests that in order to keep fruits and vegetables germ-free, you should thoroughly rinse them with lukewarm water, and allow them to dry before storing them.

Should we chop fruits and vegetables before we disinfect them?

You must not attempt to chop or peel vegetables before disinfecting them. According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), you must disinfect fruits and vegetables before bringing them in contact with any kitchen equipment.

This is to ensure that no dirt or virus is transferred to the inside of the produce or to other surfaces via the knife or other kitchen equipment you might be using.

Nutritionist Nmami Agarwal cautions, “In the current scenario, we often opt for healthier eating habits, use of superfoods and addition of more greens to our diet but take the most fundamental step of cleaning our produce rather lightly.”

She adds, “Veggie Clean from Marico is made with 100% natural cleansers derived from coconut and corn and is proven to remove 99.9% germs, pesticides and waxes from the surface. It has zero chemicals, alcohol or soap and is totally safe for use, to ensure the health and hygiene of your family.”

Is there any safe and organic way to disinfect fruits and vegetables?

A naturally-derived cleanser like Veggie Clean is the knight in shining armour you need to rescue you from the back and forth of deciding exactly how to disinfect fruits and vegetables.

Simply add 1/2 cap of the product in one litre of water (1 big kitchen bowl) and soak all your fruits and veggies in it for five minutes. Rinse them with running water, wipe them clean, and serve up a storm, stress free.

Get your hands on Veggie Clean here.