How to Wash Fruits and Vegetables the Right Way

Most kitchen food safety advice focuses on raw meat, but the FDA is clear that fresh produce can also carry germs that make people sick. Washing it properly takes less than a minute, and the right method is simpler than the products sold for the job suggest.

Why produce needs washing

The FDA's consumer guidance on cleaning produce points out that federal health officials estimate nearly 48 million people get sick each year from food contaminated with harmful germs, and that produce has been behind outbreaks in recent years, including spinach, cantaloupe, tomatoes, and lettuce.

According to an FDA foodborne illness expert quoted in that guidance, contamination can happen at almost any point:

• While growing, from animals, harmful substances in soil or water, or poor worker hygiene.
• After harvest, as produce passes through many hands.
• At home, during food preparation or through poor storage.

That last point is the one you control.

Start at the store

Before washing even comes up, the FDA suggests two buying habits:

• Choose produce that is not bruised or damaged.
• Make sure pre-cut items, such as bagged lettuce or watermelon slices, are refrigerated or on ice, both at the store and once you get them home.

The FDA's seven steps

The FDA's list for preparing fresh produce:

1. Wash your hands for 20 seconds with warm water and soap, before and after preparing produce.
2. Cut away damaged or bruised areas before preparing or eating.
3. Rinse produce before you peel it, so dirt and bacteria are not carried from the skin onto the part you eat by the knife or peeler.
4. Gently rub produce under plain running water. There is no need for soap or a produce wash.
5. Scrub firm produce, such as melons and cucumbers, with a clean vegetable brush.
6. Dry produce with a clean cloth or paper towel to further reduce bacteria that may be present.
7. Remove the outermost leaves of a head of lettuce or cabbage.

No soap, no special wash

Step 4 surprises people. The FDA says plain running water is enough, and neither soap nor a commercial produce wash is needed. The method is the gentle rubbing while the produce is held under the running tap, rather than letting it sit in a bowl.

Wash the rind even if you will not eat it

The FDA's Safe Food Handling guidance adds a detail that matters for melons, avocados, citrus, and squash: rinse fresh fruits and vegetables under running tap water, including those with skins and rinds that are not eaten. The reason ties back to step 3. When a knife cuts through an unwashed rind, it can drag anything on the surface straight into the flesh.

A cantaloupe is a good example. Scrub the outside with a clean brush under running water, dry it, and then slice it. Washing the slices afterward does not undo what the knife already carried in.

Keep washed produce away from raw meat

Washing produce well can be undone by what it touches next. The FDA's Safe Food Handling page says to:

• Use one cutting board for fresh produce and a separate one for raw meat, poultry, and seafood.
• Separate raw meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs from other foods in your shopping cart, grocery bags, and refrigerator.
• Wash cutting boards, dishes, utensils, and countertops with hot, soapy water after preparing each food item.

If you prep a salad and raw chicken for the same meal, doing the produce first on a clean board is a simple way to keep the two apart.

Storing produce after you buy it

The FDA expert in the produce guidance advises storing perishable produce in the refrigerator at or below 40°F. The FDA's broader guidance also recommends refrigerating peeled or cut vegetables for freshness, quality, and safety, so anything you have already cut belongs in the fridge.

When to wash: before eating, not before storing

The FDA's steps are framed around preparing produce, which is a useful cue for timing: a practical routine is to wash produce right before you eat or cook it, and to finish with the drying step every time.

A quick routine

1. Wash your hands for 20 seconds.
2. Trim bruised or damaged spots.
3. Rinse under running water while rubbing; scrub firm items with a clean brush.
4. Dry with a clean cloth or paper towel.
5. Then peel, cut, or slice on a produce-only cutting board.

Key takeaways

• The FDA says nearly 48 million people a year get sick from contaminated food, and produce has caused outbreaks too.
• Rinse produce under plain running water while rubbing it; soap and produce washes are not needed.
• Rinse before peeling, and wash rinds and skins you will not eat, because a knife can carry surface germs inside.
• Scrub firm produce with a clean brush, dry it with a clean cloth or paper towel, and remove the outer leaves of lettuce and cabbage.
• Keep perishable and cut produce refrigerated at 40°F or below, and use a separate cutting board from raw meat.