Baking Soda Can Successfully Remove Up To 96% Of Pesticides From Fruits And Vegetables



Recent research has highlighted the versatility of baking soda as an ingredient, with many effective applications. In particular, it has been discovered that baking soda can remove up to 96 percent of pesticides from fruits and vegetables. This is significantly more effective than the standard technique of bleaching fruit for two minutes to remove pesticides.

When mixed with water and gently rubbed on apple skins, baking soda can eradicate almost all the residual pesticide left on the fruit within 15 minutes. The reason for this is that baking soda has a highly alkaline pH, which allows it to break down pesticides into harmless molecules.

Concerns about the hazards of pesticides to food safety and human health have been increasing, and so reducing pesticide residues is desirable. Lead author Dr Lili He from the University of Massachusetts stated that "pesticide residues may remain on agricultural produce, where they contribute to the total dietary intake of pesticides."

To assess the effectiveness of baking soda, researchers at the University of Massachusetts conducted a study using gala apples sprayed with two types of pesticides: phosmet, an insecticide, and thiabendazole, a fungicide. The apples were rinsed with tap water, a one percent baking soda solution, and a bleaching solution. Electronic mapping technology was used to evaluate pesticide presence on the surface and inside the apples.

The results showed that baking soda can remove up to 96% of pesticides. After 12 minutes of gentle scrubbing, the baking soda solution removed 80% of thiabendazole, while it took 15 minutes to remove 96% of phosmet. Thiabendazole is believed to be more difficult to remove as it more readily penetrates the fruit's surfaces.

To use baking soda as a pesticide remover, add a few tablespoons to a bowl of water, place the produce in the solution to soak for a few minutes, and rinse with cold water. This simple solution could help reduce pesticide residues on fruits and vegetables, contributing to improved food safety and human health.



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