Do you wash your fruits and vegetables with salt?
By zandi458
@zandi458 (28102)
Malaysia
November 5, 2010 10:50am CST
Fruits and vegetables are the reasons why many people fell sick simply because they did not wash their vegies and fruits properly. The farmers use heavy pesticides and fertilizers which is the real culprit behind most diseases. All this while I used to soak my vegies in salt water before I cook as I was told that salt water washes away all the pesticides and fertilizers residue. Little did I know that salt water is not a good substance to use for washing or soaking vegetables or fruits. A kind soul has just send me an email which is self explanatory which I think is good to share with everyone here.
"Salt is sodium chloride. Therefore, wash fruits and vegetables with salt will make pesticides more stable. Fruits and vegetables should be washed with water first, then clean with water again by adding a little low gluten flour (or starch). This will remove the pesticides.
A test done in the Inspection Agency pointed out: salt compound will stabilize pesticides. It is better off to let the vegetables sit at room temperature for half a day, then rinse with water. The advertisement "Washing vegetables with salt is healthy" is incorrect.
A teach of the Food Engineering Department said: salt makes pesticides more stable due to chemical bonds. Pesticide residues in vegetables will be locked in. Therefore, pesticides in vegetables should be removed by rinsing with water several times. Do not add salt to wash vegetables ......?
In one nutrition class, Professor of Medicine in Taipei (now also a hospital clinical dietitian), has strong criticism of the misleading ads and wonder why no one ever stop it. Disclosure of such inaccurate information happened quite often, but no action was taken to ....? She hopes the public can have accurate medical knowledge. "
9 people like this
40 responses
@quita88 (3715)
• United States
5 Nov 10
I didn't know this but I never did wash my veggies and fruits in salt water.
I usually wash fruits and veggies that are in a colander using cool running water for several minutes. Then let dry to air and eat .......
I sure didn't realize that salt stabilizes pesticides either.
I do use iodized salt sprinkled in my carpets and around the house for fleas in the spring time.
I used cedar or pine chips both in my house and yard....for any bugs, like fleas and ticks and only just realized a couple of days ago the cedar chips thrown into a spider web will make the spiders go away ! Try it if spiders are a problem for you this time of year.
1 person likes this
@zandi458 (28102)
• Malaysia
5 Nov 10
I saw my sister washing and soaking her vegies with salt and followed here doing the same. I have problems with fleas and ticks in my living room sometimes, should try using cedar or pine chips as per your recommendation here.
@quita88 (3715)
• United States
5 Nov 10
I'd try the salt first then the pine or cedar chips in the corneres under furniture, just anywhere you think a flea would go.
My house looks funny with cedar chips around the baseboards and on my porch dangling from spider webs, but my neighbor across the street use all kinds of chemicals in her house and yard and they were picking off ticks and drowning in soapy water all summer.
Not here. I just bought two more pkgs. of pine chips , in the dog dept. at Wal Mart and I have no bugs.
Try it and see. YOu can't hurt anything and when you vacuum the chips up you get nice smell.
I use the chips about twice a year, once in the spring time and again in the fall ...like now.
Let me know if it works for you.
@kodukodu84 (1569)
• Malaysia
20 Dec 10
Wow that is a new information for me honestly. But I never used salt to soak and wash fruits and vegetables all my life though, neither with my family. The only thing that I soak with salt is an apple because it keeps it green and fresh once it was already cut and I always do that when I used to work in the bar. Thanks for sharing and have a nice day
1 person likes this
@zandi458 (28102)
• Malaysia
21 Dec 10
I started using salt water to soak my vegetables because of the highlands vegetables to kill the worms, and I was then told that it also washes away what ever chemicals in the vegetables. Little did I know that it is doing more harm than good in using salt. I refrain doing it now.
@zandi458 (28102)
• Malaysia
10 Nov 10
I think only people in this part of the world uses salt water to wash their veggies and fruits. The uncontrollable use of pesticides has created a sense of health awareness among the locals. Apparently using salt water is making matters worse and many are not aware of its health hazard yet.
@beautyqueen26 (16030)
• United States
10 Nov 10
Thanks for the very helpful discussion.
It's so important to wash pesticides
off fruits and vegetables.
In the United States, they tell us
to simply use diluted dish detergent
to wash off produce.
And, then we're supposed to put the produce
under hot or warm running water for
five minutes.
It seems like a lot of work just to
eat healthy.
I like fruits that come in a natural
wrapper like bananas, oranges and tangerines.
Once the peel is taken off, you can eat the
fruit without a need for rinsing.
One of the ways that I make
sure the vegetables and fruits are healthy
for consumption is by peeling before use.
For instance, cucumbers and apples and carrots
are easily peeled before use, so any residual
pesticides are nullified.
1 person likes this
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
7 Nov 10
hi zandi yes salt will just make the residue cling more so its a really bad idea, I sometimes put a tiny bit of dish soap in the water, and do not soak them either justscrub them then run warm water copiously over all the veggies and fruits, if they can be peeled before cooking or storing do that then cook or store.also dry them thoroughly first.,like I said I sometimes use just a couple of drops of dish soap in the water mostly on things I will peel anyway.also I dislike salting things as I am salt fast and any salt just shoots up my blood pressure.
1 person likes this
@infatuatedbby (94914)
• United States
17 Nov 10
Yes, my parents always wash fruit and vegetables in salt and I carried the tradition :) They also wash meat, and fish with salt too!
1 person likes this
@Sreekala (34312)
• India
6 Nov 10
Hi zandi,
I never used salt for washing fruits. Salt is good to remove the small worms in cauliflower and some leafy vegetables. I am particular on for cauliflower, keeping the same in salt water for sometime is the only option to remove worms from the same. The worms are green in colours and sometimes can’t see properly so I adopt this method. I am not worried much about the pesticides because it is a part of it
. In all other veggies I wash the same in plain water at least three times.
Thank you very much for this new information.
. In all other veggies I wash the same in plain water at least three times.
Thank you very much for this new information. 1 person likes this
@jdyrj777 (6530)
• United States
7 Nov 10
Ive never heard thta about salt water. Since its wrong to do its a good thing.
I usually just wash them when i first bring them home and again when im ready to use.
Another false food fact is about canned fish. Canned fish has less omega3 than fish available anyother way. In fact frozen fish is best because its frozen shortly after its caught. I was shocked to find pic of canned fish in a doc office and it was omega 3 poster.
@jdyrj777 (6530)
• United States
22 Nov 10
This article i read was talking about all canned fish. Fresh sardines may be loaded with omega 3 but i highly doubt the canned does. Like most everything canning process looses much vitimans and all else.
Another thing about sardines. A few years ago when the pet food contamination was going around. I have 3 cats so i went to a dollar store and bought sardine, mackeral, salmon and tuna. Test to see what they would eat i gave them samples of each. Strangly enough they would have nothing to do with the sardines. That was when i took sardine off my list of foods to eat.
@TheCatLady (4691)
• Israel
11 Nov 10
Washing or soaking you vegetables with salt water kills the bugs. It is highly beneficial to do that with organic pesticide free leafy vegetables. People who really don't want to eat bugs do it with things like lettuce cabbage broccoli cauliflower. All the veggies that have places for bugs to hide. I've never heard that it has any effect on pesticides one way or the other.
@aerous (13434)
• Philippines
9 Nov 10
Well, as I cook vegetable I wash it with water only. But I don't wash them using salt.
But as I remember. I see my grandfather, using salt when wash some of the vegetables. I don't what the name of the vegetables. But He said to me that salt can ease the itchiness of the said vegetables.
But regularly I don't used salt to wash vegetables and or fruits
@RawBill1 (8531)
• Gold Coast, Australia
9 Nov 10
Hi Zandi. That is all very complicated and a lot of hard work in my opinion. You are right though about the pesticides. They are very harmful to the health of people who consume the produce. They may keep the produce looking nice and pretty, but they are very damaging. 
This is why I prefer to buy and eat organic produce. You have to check for bugs such as caterpillars and slugs and the produce does not look as pretty, but it is certainly a lot better for you and there is no risk of illness from it. 
This is why I prefer to buy and eat organic produce. You have to check for bugs such as caterpillars and slugs and the produce does not look as pretty, but it is certainly a lot better for you and there is no risk of illness from it. @RawBill1 (8531)
• Gold Coast, Australia
22 Nov 10
They are more expensive to buy,but they are cheaper if you grow your own. Seeds are cheap, you just need good organic composted soil to start. I made my own rich soil over time by composting food scraps and garden waste over time.
Then you just save the seeds from each vegetable or fruit and start again for free! 
Then you just save the seeds from each vegetable or fruit and start again for free! 
@greenwbird (227)
• China
6 Nov 10
I have heared of this,but never done as this because I am so lazy,thanks for my being lazy!now I know this and I will tell peoples around me about this wrong"tip",it is so kind of you sharing this!
1 person likes this
@ANXiao020 (48)
• China
5 Nov 10
i naver wash fruits or vegetabels with salt. and i never heard about it before. that sounds really horrible. thanks for sharing.
1 person likes this
@saqi78 (1402)
• Malaysia
5 Nov 10
A very good article, We never practice of using salts to wash our vegetables and fruits, normally as I have seen farmers, they wash vegetables before sending them to market for one time and when it comes to our home already half day pass, and then at home we wash vegetable for one or two times in excess of water before cutting and then one time after cutting vegetables in excess of water and I think it is good enough washing to remove any pesticide from vegetables. This is normal in every home at our country....
I didnot know about salt before this, but this message should be spread as much as possible so the people who are practicing this should become aware of this thing.
Thanks for sharing and may God bless you...:)
1 person likes this
@trixyteddy (1070)
• India
7 Nov 10
Thank you so much for this eye opener. Yes, I do wash my fruits and vegetables with salt. One question though...how do we get rid of worms in certain vegetables, in cauliflower for instance?
@youless (112481)
• Guangzhou, China
10 Nov 10
In fact it is a good idea to wash the fruits and vegetables with salt because it will be clean and avoid the bacteria. Actually my mom likes to wash grapes with salt because you know it is not easy to clean the grapes well by water only. But I don't wash fruits and vegetables with salt because I think my salt will run out soon although salt is not expensive.
I love China
@ladym33 (10979)
• United States
6 Nov 10
Thank you for the information about that. No I have never washed my fruits and vegetables. I usually just run them under the tap a bit. I rub them a bit as I am washing them to get anything off that should not be there. I usually don't use anything other than just plain water to wash my fruits and vegetables, of course some things I peel the outer surface off of with a peeler.
@Opal26 (17679)
• United States
6 Nov 10
Hi zandi~ I always just washed my fruits and veggies with water.
I had never even heard about using salt. I try not to think
about all the terrible pesticides that are used or I'd never
eat any fruits or veggies. And what about all the meat recalls
for e-coli? If we think about all this stuff we would have
nothing to eat at all! It is getting worse everyday. If we
can't rely on meat and vegetables to eat then what are we supposed
to do? They find something wrong with everything these days
including grains and starches! Thank you for the tip though,
I'm sure there were plenty of people who were using salt to
wash with who didn't know that it was a "bad thing" to be doing!
@myfb2009 (8296)
• Malaysia
8 Nov 10
Hi Zandi, thanks for sharing this valuable info here. Seems like, everyone of us here, have our own way of washing the veggies and fruits. I never fond of washing my veggies and fruits in salt water. Because my mother have high blood pressure, so it is not a good practice for my family. We only wash and soak them in normal water and lastly before cook, we will again wash them in purified water. We had been practicing this method for years and we seldom got sick.
@nangisha (3496)
• Indonesia
7 Nov 10
Hi zandi458!.
I never wash my fruit and vegetable with salt. I usually just wash every piece of it in running water then sit in colander to dry it before cook it.
I think the only time I soaking the vegetable in salt water is when making cucumber pickle and kimchi (korean food). Do you think its still dangerous if I soak it in salt water after washing it in water.
