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As a little kid, I loved fruits and vegetables. If you put an apple and a piece of cake in front of me, I’d go for the healthy option, which seems crazy, especially in today’s society. Since I would often help myself to fruits and vegetables, my mom always made sure that she has clean produce readily available. As I grew up, she showed me how she would clean the produce and cut it if necessary, which I have continued to do over the years, but I don’t think I ever really understood the importance of cleaning produce until recently.
Up until yesterday, cleaning my fruits and vegetables was something I did because my mom taught me to. I always knew that fruits and vegetables may have pesticides on them. After reading and article about the most commonly contaminated produce, which you can read here, I started to be more selective when it came to what I bought. But pesticides are just one reason why it is important to clean your produce, as well as make it important for homes to have a deionized water system, such as these, though.
Aside from the fact that a lot of produce come in contact with pesticides, I never really thought about how many germs are on the fruit and vegetables from other people's hands before I bought them. I understand that the produce needs to be packaged, shipped, and displayed in order to be bought, but how many other shoppers touch the produce before you are the one to buy it. I will admit that I have always been very selective about the produce I buy and am guilty of putting items back if I don’t think they are the best quality. I’m guessing I’m not the only person that does this either, making it very likely that multiple people have gotten their hands on the produce you are bringing home, and who knows where their hands have been! Ewwww, it makes me cringe so be sure to always clean your produce when you bring them home!