Everybody eats, and no one wants to eat something that could make you sick. Â But thereâs a lot of misinformation out there about how and whether you should wash your food.
Food safety is an important issue.  The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that each year one in six people in the United States will get sick because of food-borne illness.  And risks can be increased or decreased at every point between the farm and your fork.  Yes, you want to make sure to cook your food to the appropriate temperature, but here are some other tips to help you make good decisions in the kitchen.
1. Donât wash meatSome people think that youâre supposed to wash chicken, turkey, or other meats before cooking. Â Those people are wrong. Â âResearch shows that washing meat can spread dangerous bacteria around your kitchen or food preparation area,â said Ben Chapman, a food safety researcher at North Carolina State University. Â âAnd washing poultry under running water can spray surface contamination up to three feet away. Â We cook meat to make it safer; washing meat can only make a meal riskier.â
2. Washing fruits and veggies only removes up to 99 percent of pathogensâThat seems good, but itâs not great.â By comparison, cooking food can cut the number of bacteria or other microbial pathogens by 99.9999 percent. Â And that 0.9999 percent difference can be important. Â If a food is contaminated by thousands of microbes, washing off 99 percent means that dozens will be left behind â and thatâs enough to make you sick. Â That is why people who are immunocompromised, such as some chemotherapy patients, are often discouraged from eating raw fruits and vegetables.
3. Donât use soapâAlthough washing has its limitations, vigorously rinsing produce under running water is the most effective way to remove the microbes that cause foodborne illnesses,â Chapman said. Â You donât need to use soap or special cleaning solutions. Â In fact, using soap can actually introduce additional risk, because soaps may contain chemicals that arenât intended for human consumption.
4. You canât get all the pesticides off your food (but donât panic)Some minute traces of pesticide will probably be on â or in â your fruits or vegetables when you eat them.  âBut being able to detect a pesticide doesnât mean that itâs a public health problem,â said Chris Gunter, a researcher at NC State who studies vegetable agriculture.  Thatâs because, after using a pesticide, farmers are required to wait for a specific period of time before harvesting (itâs called a âpre-harvest intervalâ).  During that time, the pesticide breaks down or washes off, meaning any residual pesticide meets EPAâs human health requirements.
5. Even organic food can use a rinseJust because produce is labeled âorganicâ doesnât mean that itâs somehow immune to microbial contamination. Organic farmers usually grow their fruits and vegetables in open fields, just like conventional farmers, and are subject to some of the same risks, such as fecal contamination from wildlife (that is, poop can still get on the food).
âAny time youâre going to eat fresh produce you should rinse it off, if for no other reason than to rinse off dirt,â said Don Schaffner, a food safety researcher at Rutgers. Â âAnd rinsing off produce may offer some risk reduction in terms of microbial pathogens.â
Bonus: Donât wash pre-washed veggiesIf youâve bought salad mix that is labeled as âpre-washed,â you really donât need to wash it again. In fact, you probably shouldnât wash it again.  âAn expert panel reported in 2007 that consumers who wash these salads again wonât reduce the risk,â Schaffner said, âand may actually create a risk of cross-contaminationâ where pathogens from other foods get onto the salad.  In this case, being lazy is a virtue.