[sitharus]

I hate to break it to you, but the loose produce in store isn't clean. That's why you must wash produce before you eat it.

[forgotusername6]

Any washing you do to the produce at home has basically zero chance of killing/removing anything. It's hygiene theatre. People typically don't wash their produce in bleach or soap.

[AlecSchueler]

What are you basing this on? If I buy something like parsley and don't wash it then it tastes a bit like fly killer, but if I rinse it thoroughly then it doesn't. Is that just placebo?

[nielsbot]

Water is a great solvent! And, I'm sure you could use unscented soap if you wanted to. (I just use water)

Anyway, if water won't wash the food clean, then one may as well not shop at the grocery store.

[sitharus]

I’m pretty sure I’d rather remove the dirt from my vegetables, but you do you.

You can also read the studies that show mechanical action (brushing, rubbing) under running water effectively reduces the bacteria count https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0362028X2...

It’ll never be sterile, but it doesn’t need to be for a healthy human. Probably shouldn’t be either.

[troyvit]

That link makes my day and confirms so much I wondered about food cleanliness theater.

It's gross but I tend to leave a tiny bit of dirt on my potatoes. I think it's an emotional callback to your point that it might not be great for our food to be completely sterile.

[Perz1val]

Well, I use dishsoap