Some pesticides can’t be removed - so do we really need to wash fruit and veggies?
For decades, Australians have been warned to wash their fruit before eating it to remove any lingering residue from pesticides – but some pesticides can’t be removed, even with extreme methods like bicarb soda or peeling the skin.
Professor Frederic Leusch, Dean (Research) in the sciences group at Griffith University, told nine.com.au it’s no cause for alarm.
Washing fruit may not be as effective at removing pesticides as some Aussies believe. E+
In fact, most Aussies face more significant health risks from pesticide exposure in their own backyard than on their fruit.
“People are very worried about very low levels of residues in the food that we might be exposed to,” Leusch said.
“But then happily grab a bottle of glyphosate [weed killer] without gloves and spray it around the garden, getting huge exposures from that.”
Here’s what you need to know about how pesticides are used in Australia and why forgetting to wash your apples probably won’t affect your long-term health.
Are Australian fruits sprayed with pesticides?
Most fresh produce grown in Australia is treated with pesticides to stop insects, fungi and other pests from damaging or destroying crops.
Some are sprayed with topical pesticides, which sit on the surface or skin.
Others are treated with systemic pesticides, which seep into the tissue of produce and can’t be washed off with water, bicarb soda, or anything else.
“If it’s in the tissue itself, there’s no way around it,” Leusch said.
That’s part of the reason why Australia enforces strict monitoring and regulations around pesticide use to protect anyone who comes into contact with them, including farmers, growers, and consumers.
“If we want to ensure a safe and sustainable supply of food, there is a role for pesticides in that process,” Leusch said.
“But we need to make sure that our farmers are using pesticides the right way, that they don’t go nuts.”
Is it safe to eat fruit with pesticides?
The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) sets strict limits to ensure the amount of pesticide left on produce does not pose a hazard to human health.
These are called maximum residue limits (MRLs) and are decided based on rigorous science.
Some pesticides are applied topically, others seep into the tissue of fruit and vegetables. Supplied
“There’s an acceptable daily intake, [where] if you’re exposed to this chemical for your entire lifetime at this concentration, every single day, that would still be safe,” Leusch explained.
“There’s a very dedicated effort to derive those guidelines to make sure that the residues in our food are well below safe levels.”
Some pesticides can break down in a matter of days and has already degraded by the time treated fruit hits supermarket shelves.
A lot of produce sold commercially in Australia is also washed before sale to limit the risk of any adverse health effects from pesticide residue or contaminants.
The rules are different overseas, which may be where some Aussies’ concern about pesticide on their produce stems from.
Looser regulations and reliance on older chemicals in some countries makes the risk of adverse health effects from pesticide exposure higher than in Australia.
“There are countries where the system is much less advanced than what we have here in Australia, much less protective,” Leusch said.
What happens when you eat pesticides on fruit?
The APVMA makes sure any pesticides which could affect human health are strictly regulated and monitored to ensure any residue left on fruit is minimal enough that it won’t cause any harm when eaten regularly.
Some pesticides already pose an incredibly low risk to humans, like insecticides which target specific hormones that are not present in the human body.
But as Leusch said, “everything can be toxic at a certain dose”.
“Take salt for example; a bit of salt sprinkled in fries, yum yum. Eat the whole salt shaker in one sitting, and you’re calling the emergency department,” he said.
“It’s the same thing with pesticides.”
It’s also important to note that most residue testing looks at how a single pesticide may affect the human body over time; it doesn’t always account for how multiple pesticides may interact, especially over a long period.
And the science is always evolving.
Last year, the APVMA strengthened regulations over the use of dimethoate after it was revealed children aged two to six who ate berries treated with the insecticide within seven days of harvest risked exposure to the chemical beyond safe limits.
Now fruit growers have to wait at least 14 days after applying the pesticide before harvesting to give it more time to degrade.
Which brings us back to the question of washing fruit.
Do you need to wash fruit in Australia?
It’s a good idea to wash your produce, but it’s not the end of the world if you forget to rinse an apple here and there.
“Rinsing at home is not a bad thing at all, it will remove additional topical pesticides that might be on the surface of the fruit,” Leusch said.
“But not washing is, in an Australian context, absolutely fine.”
Food Safety Information Council chief executive Lydia Buchtmann also recommends washing fruit and veg, but it’s not due to pesticides.
She told nine.com.au it’s good to wash produce before eating “because of the possible risk of contamination by food poisoning bacteria or viruses”.
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