According to nutrition expert Nwabumma Asouzu, you should handle all vegetables and fruits with great care.
The Registered Dietitian-Nutritionist at the Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, said using detergent or bleach to wash fresh fruits and vegetables makes them unsafe for consumption.
In an interview the Punch Healthwise she emphasised that it was wrong to wash fresh vegetables and fruits with products that are not consumable and hazardous to health.
It is vital to handle vegetables with care because they contain antioxidants that can be lost when mishandled.
The seller’s unclean hands or dirty environment contaminates raw vegetables. The best way to care for your raw vegetables is wash them under running water or clean water with a little salt.
It’s important to separate fresh vegetables from household chemicals and raw foods such as meat, poultry and seafood. During preparation, remove and discard bruised or damaged portions of vegetables before cooking.
The nutrition expert noted that in the aspect of food safety, slicing vegetables before washing has its own consequences.
The larva of some insects can remain attached to the leaves if they are sliced before washing. The larva washes off better before slicing the vegetables. But, because the process is reversed, the larva will remain attached to the vegetables.
Consumption of such vegetables poses a significant health risk to people because the mild heat and short time used in cooking such vegetables may not be effective in destroying the insects and their larva.
According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, sometimes, raw vegetables contain harmful germs that can make you and your family sick, such as Salmonella, E. coli, and Listeria.