How to wash fruit and vegetables

Fresh fruit and vegetables, from your local shop or your allotment, are a healthy and nutritious part of your diet. Washing them before eating is also an essential part of keeping healthy.

Here a few helpful tips:

Clean each item in fresh running water. For smaller items like strawberries, you can fill a small bowl with water and bob the fruit about gently so as not to damage it. When clean store items in the fridge. Place a clean dry tea towel at the bottom of the fridge crisper drawer and place the clean dried vegetables and fruit on top of the cloth. It is important to change this cloth every week. Try not to store food in plastic wrapping.

For fruit going into a bowl on the table, it is also a great idea to wash it as soon as it arrives in the house. This will mean people can just grab a bit of fruit on the run and not have to worry about washing it. 

For a more comprehensive look at washing and storing fruits and vegetables, have a look at this link NHS guidelines [1] on stopping cross-contamination. 

[1] "How to wash fruit and vegetables", NHS