It is said that fruits and vegetables need to be washed prior to use. Yes, washing can probably get rid of most dirt and grind, but does washing actually make vegetables and fruit safer? Is there a better way to remove pathogenic microorganisms?
I came across How to eat raw beet greens safely? where there is a section discussing "Vinegar, salt, warm water to fight pathogens":
Vinegar has an antibacterial action, inhibiting bacterial growth.
In a study, scientists combined the use of vinegar and sodium chloride (salt). This solution was effective for the prevention of bacterial food poisoning.
Another study measured the effectiveness of vinegar against bacteria, such as Escherichia coli.
Researchers measured the antibacterial action of vinegar depended to:
- presence of sodium chloride (the common salt) and
- temperature
When scientists used 2.5% acetic acid (vinegar) at 20°C, they had to wait 739 min for the inactivation of pathogens.
This time shortened to 5.27 min by just adding 5% sodium chloride (salt).
Amazing…Just by adding salt, the time shortened to 1/140.
The results were even more astonishing when scientists used warm water.
Only with the use of 2.5% vinegar and warm water at 40 oC, the inactivation time was just 14.4 min. Less than a quarter of an hour…
What happened when scientists combined vinegar, salt, and warm water?
The inactivation time was only 0.89 min… Less than a minute…