Quite often, humans ignore the fact that fruits have to be washed before they are eaten. Unwashed fruits are really harmful because fruits carry germs that could be harmful to their health. A Food and Drug Administration report shows that most people (48 million people every year) get sick due to eating contaminated food or unwashed fruits and vegetables.
Fruits and vegetables carry bacteria; therefore, these bacteria could cause problems to human health if not well washed before eating. The harmful bacteria stems from the pesticides, fertilizers and other acaricides used while spraying fruits and vegetables.
You are advised to thoroughly wash fruits and vegetables before eating them due to several risks associated with eating unwashed fruits, especially bacterial contamination and pesticides; these cause food-borne related illnesses, such as listeriosis and escherichia coli.
While growing up, fruits get infested with harmful bacteria at the different stages of growth, which may cause contamination at the later stages of growth; however, contamination can also occur due to animal contact, harmful subsistence in soil or water and poor hygiene.
Contamination can also occur after harvesting at your home due to poor storage and also poor preparation.
There are so many risks associated with eating unwashed fruits because these contain harmful germs, for example; salmonella, E.coli, listeria and so many other germs; these can easily cause foodborne related illnesses like food poisoning, which comes along with side effects like; diarrhea, vomiting, fever, headache, muscle aches, stomach cramps, stiff neck, confusion, loss of a balance and convulsions. Certain categories of people could be heavily affected by these illnesses. The related side effects include; pregnant women, toddlers, adult people, and majorly those above 65 years of age and those who could have a weak immune system.
Getting fruits from the garden or the supermarket and then eating them straight out might not be healthy; it is always recommended to wash them first. Let us see what can happen in case you don’t wash them first and eat straight away?
Fresh fruits contain disease-causing bugs (pathogens), for example, salmonella, campylobacter, listeria, E.coli, pesticide residues and toxic compounds; all these are disease-causing agents. Additionally, unwashed fresh fruits contain allergens that may cause contamination. Once contaminated fruits are eaten, they might cause discomfort to your body and healthy entirely due to the effect of small organisms known as microbes.
Washing fruits is vital because it reduces the risk of catching the illnesses we have seen above. Washing removes dirt, dust, pesticides and fertilizers displayed on top and bugs. It is said that washing also improves the shelf life, safety/healthy and quality of the product. It is medically advised that using sanitized water to wash fruits is important because it removes and kills microorganisms attached to fruits. The first stage of washing reduces the pathogen's level; however, there could be infiltration of pathogens into cracks, crevices, and cells of fruits and vegetables.
Once pathogens occupy those positions without being well washed away thoroughly, they are likely to survive and multiply; therefore, a person is more likely to get affected if the fruit is consumed. Washing of fruits alone might not be adequate peeling is also recommended to get bugs off the surface of the fruit though the possibility of cross-contaminating the inner part of the product is also high; therefore, cooking/heating them is also recommended though it might not be 100% safe as well due to metabolites produced by pathogen bugs which are heat resistant.
In conclusion, Lake House Uganda says that the washing of fruits is not just good but necessary before eaten.