Is it safe to wash fruit & vegetables with soap?
Alot of people and news reports are advising people to wash their fruits & vegetables with soap to kill the coronavirus. Should we do that?
80%Negative
From 5 verified experts:
4 answered Unlikely or higher
Donald Schaffner has answered Unlikely
An expert from Rutgers University in Microbiology, Food Safety
There's a bunch of people out there recommending you wash your fresh produce with soap. This is not a good idea. Soap is known to cause vomiting and or diarrhea. It’s for washing hands not for use on food. Evidence:
Here is the MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) for Dawn Dish Soap) saying Ingestion: May result in nausea, vomiting, and/or diarrhea.
Here is one for hand soap saying Ingestion: May cause mild gastrointestinal irritation with nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain.
Here is a letter to the editor from Pediatrics (1972) entitled Detergent Toxicity. Finally, there is this article.
Stay home if you can, wash your *hands* and use hand sanitizer, and take care of those who need it most. Also don't wash your produce in soap.
Answered about 5 years ago
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Dr. Donald W.
Schaffner is
Extension Specialist
in Food Science and
Distinguished
Professor at Rutgers
University. His
researc... Read more