“What’s the best way to clean fresh produce?” someone asked. “I’ve heard that strawberries are especially a problem.”

“We recommend using plenty of running water and a vegetable brush on firmer-skinned produce. Also, avoid cross-contamination,” I replied.

“I just read something about using baking soda and water, and I’ll send you the link,” she continued.

She was right about another method. If you are looking to remove pesticides from produce, consider the results of a study performed at the University of Massachusetts and published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry in 2017. The researchers found an easy way to remove a specific type of pesticide from apples using a common ingredient in our cupboards.

Soaking apples in a 1% solution of baking soda in water for about 15 minutes removed more than 96% of a particular pesticide from apples in a well-controlled lab setting. That’s about 1 teaspoon of baking soda for every 2 cups of water. Be sure to rinse the produce well under cool running water after the soaking process.

You can also peel the apples, but you are losing the valuable fiber in the skin and the nutrients right under the skin.

Although we often hear about the annual “dirty dozen” fruit and vegetable list based on pesticide residues, bacteria are more likely to cause serious illness and death.

Nutrition and food safety professionals remind us that the health benefits of eating fruits and vegetables outweigh the risks of pesticide residues.

Unfortunately, fruits and vegetables were associated with half of all illnesses in produce in a recent study by a collaborative group that included the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service.

Leafy greens accounted for most of the illnesses. The plant categories included fruits, fungi vegetables (mushrooms), leafy greens, root vegetables, sprout vegetables and vine-stalk vegetables.  

What’s a savvy consumer to do? Keep eating lots of fruits and vegetables, and follow these six tips from a campaign launched by the Partnership for Food Safety Education.

1. Check

• Choose produce that isn’t bruised or damaged.
• Make sure cut items, such as packaged salads or melons, are refrigerated before buying. Avoid fresh-cut items left at room temperature.

2. Clean

• Wash your hands with warm, soapy water for 20 seconds before and after handling produce.
• Wash cutting boards, countertops, knives and peelers with hot, soapy water before and after use.
• Rinse fruits and vegetables under running water — even those with skins and rinds you don’t eat.
• Scrub firm produce (like melons or cucumbers) with a clean vegetable brush.
• Dry produce with a clean cloth or paper towel. You can also spin leafy greens in a vegetable spinner to remove excess moisture.
• Never use soap or bleach to wash produce.

3. Separate

• Keep produce separate from raw meat, poultry and seafood in your cart, grocery bags, refrigerator and during meal prep.
• Use separate cutting boards — or wash thoroughly — between raw meat and produce.

4. Cook

• Cook or throw away produce that has touched raw meat, poultry, seafood or their juices.

5. Chill

• Refrigerate cut, peeled or cooked produce within two hours.

6. Throw Away

• Discard (or compost) produce that has been left out at room temperature for more than two hours after cutting, peeling or cooking.

Most of us need to eat more vegetables and fruits of all types to reach the typical goal of nearly 4.5 to 5 cups per day. Here’s an easy recipe to serve as an appetizer with colorful, crunchy pepper strips, celery, cucumber slices and/or broccoli florets. Be sure to follow the six steps to produce safety to help ensure your snack is safe.

Vegetable Dill Dip

1 cup fat-free cottage cheese
One 8-ounce carton plain Greek yogurt
One 0.4-ounce envelope ranch dry salad dressing mix
Dried dill weed to taste

In a bowl, add the cottage cheese, Greek yogurt and ranch packet. Mix to combine.

Each serving has 100 calories, 0 grams (g) fat, 7 g protein, 12 g carbohydrate, 4 g fiber and 310 milligrams sodium.

(Julie Garden-Robinson, Ph.D., R.D., L.R.D., is a North Dakota State University Extension food and nutrition specialist and professor in the Department of Health, Nutrition and Exercise Sciences.)

NDSU Agriculture Communication – Aug. 28, 2025

Source: Julie Garden-Robinson, 701-231-7187, julie.garden-robinson@ndsu.edu

Editor: Dominic Erickson, 701-231-5546, dominic.erickson@ndsu.edu