Protecting ourselves from dangerous vegetables and fruits

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

In spring, beautiful and aromatic vegetables, fruits and berries literally haunt a potential buyer. They are sold on every corner, store shelves are bent from an excess of goods, and market sellers are actively beckoning customers to try the "very juicy peach." But do not forget that "beautiful" does not mean useful.

So, on Friday, May 18, Rospotrebnadzor reported on the fight against low-quality vegetables. It turned out that 56 tons of products were declared unfit in the first quarter of this year. Of these, almost 13 tons were brought from abroad. As a result, all the goods were withdrawn from sale. Last year, the department rejected more than 680 tons. What is the risk of buying harmful, but tempting food and how to understand that the products are dangerous - in the material of the iz.ru portal.

Mix with paraffin

According to the country's Recommendations on rational norms of food consumption, every Russian needs to eat 140 kg of vegetables and melons (for example, cabbage, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, beets and onions), 90 kg of potatoes and 100 kg of fruits and berries annually. These recommendations are approved by the Ministry of Health and, as the department assures, meet modern requirements for a healthy diet. In addition, they can be used for planning production volumes in the agricultural complex.

Fruits and vegetables are rich in macro- and microelements and vitamins. They strengthen the immune system and help in the prevention of a number of diseases. However, in the pursuit of benefits, we must not forget about the harm that can be caused by incorrectly selected products.

The danger lies in the inadequate use of chemicals in the cultivation of vegetables and fruits. According to "Agrostori", today manufacturers use pesticides, including such groups of substances as herbicides that protect against weeds, as well as fungicides (prevent the development of fungal and other diseases) and insecticides (against insect pests). With the help of pesticides, it is possible to reduce labor costs, create better conditions for crop growth and preserve the harvest.

With the help of various preparations, the fruits are also given an attractive appearance and ensure their safety. For this, preservatives E-200 - E-299 are used, for example, the aromatic hydrocarbon diphenyl (E-230). It has an antibacterial effect - it does not allow the development of fungi, mold and rot, but it is also a carcinogen. Diphenyl is toxic to the kidneys, liver, nervous and cardiovascular systems, and can cause skin diseases. This substance does not smell, and it is colorless, however, there is one distinctive feature - the fruits become sticky. The safe daily concentration of biphenyl is 0.5 mg / kg of human weight.

Sulfur dioxide also prolongs the life of products, but kills vitamins and microelements in it. Its use is evidenced by the bright glossy surface of the fruit. A sensitive nose can pick up a sulphurous odor.

Mostly fruits - apples, pears and citrus fruits - are covered with a mixture of wax, paraffin and sorbic acid. This mix gives an antibacterial effect and is a preservative. However, sorbic acid can interfere with the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract.

In addition, plant products are treated with ethylene. It is used when the product needs to "mature". Easily perishable vegetables, fruits and berries are harvested still "green", brought to the warehouse and artificially brought to the state of full ripeness. There is not enough ethylene on the surface of the fruit to cause harm to a person. But it's worth remembering that just because a product looks mature doesn't mean it is. And this fact naturally affects the amount of harmful substances.

As a representative of the medical environment told iz.ru, nitrates, which are contained in fertilizers used by farmers, are also an obvious danger. Nitrates are absorbed by the fetus and can cause various diseases.

According to the doctor, there is a risk of poisoning from eating untested vegetables, fruits or berries. But a person is also threatened by other ailments: gastritis or enterocolitis (inflammation of the small and large intestines) may develop, and weakness may appear. In this case, you need to contact a doctor for a comprehensive treatment.

Wash and wash again

Before eating, the fruits must be thoroughly washed and cleaned with a soft brush. What kind of water will be in this case - hot or cold - does not matter. You can also use baking soda, soap, and vinegar. This will get rid of pesticides, but diphenyl cannot just be washed off, it dissolves in alcohol, ethers and benzene.

To avoid allergies, it is recommended to soak it briefly in clean cold water before eating a fruit or vegetable. But you shouldn't keep it there for more than an hour and a half. 60 minutes is enough. Then the fruit must be rinsed again.

It is also advised to peel the peel. Of course, this reduces the amount of vitamins, but the likelihood that harmful substances will enter the body is also reduced, which in this case is much more important. If there are yellow spots under the skin, then the fruit or vegetable should not be eaten. This also applies to rotten or mildewed products. Cutting off the spoiled fragment is not an option, because harmful spores have already entered other parts of the fruit.

Greens need to be soaked in cool water for about fifteen minutes, periodically changing the water until it becomes clean, and then rinse. For better cleansing from pathogenic bacteria and microbes, you can hold it for half an hour in a solution with salt and vinegar - one tablespoon of both per liter of water.

After discarding the crumpled and overripe berries, put the berries in a colander in one layer and rinse under running water for five minutes. Then they are given contrasting "baths" to get rid of microbes: it is necessary to dip the colander two or three times into a container with hot (but not boiling water) and cold water.

Nitrate bomb

You can protect yourself from nitrates by taking a special device with you to the market that will help you calculate unusable products.

In general, the purchase of vegetables and fruits exclusively in places of authorized trade contributes to the reduction of risks. The fact is that only there the safety of products is monitored. You can demand from sellers documents confirming the quality of the goods.

By the way, it's worth looking at the country of origin. “The longer these vegetables are transported, the worse their quality, because they are harvested specially green, they must be treated with something so that they do not rot (…), and if this is our tomato, Russian, then the path to the end consumer is much shorter. Therefore, the tomato can be harvested when it is ripe,”Pavel Grudinin, director of the Lenin State Farm, told Moskva 24 last year.

In order not to be deceived when foreign goods are passed off as Russian, one must remember about the seasonality. “If you are offered strawberries near Moscow in April or ground cucumber from Belarus is offered in February, then you must understand that this is a hoax,” said Grudinin, who participated in the 2018 presidential elections.

Rospotrebnadzor also drew attention to the fact that those who sell the goods must "strictly observe the rules of personal hygiene" and "wear clean sanitary clothes", including a special headdress. Moreover, in the tent or kiosk where he works, and near the place of trade, cleanliness must also be observed. But this is something from the realm of fantasy.

Some simple rules for choosing the right vegetables, fruits and berries are more realistic. Of course, each fruit has its own unique characteristics, but there are some general principles as well.

For example, the shape of a natural vegetable is almost always different from the ideal one. A perfectly straight cucumber of perfect green looks suspicious, because the side on which the sun is shining should be bright green, and the one in the shade should be yellowish.

The smell also matters: it should be quite intense.

While still in the market, you can watch out for insects - bees and wasps: they are afraid of pesticides and do not sit on fruits and berries processed by them.

As for the tomatoes, if you press the skin a little with effort and it does not burst, but only a dent remains, then most likely it was grown with the use of harmful fertilizers. You can also cut a tomato: white flesh and veins indicate a lot of nitrates.

Natural potatoes should be firm. We press on the tuber with a fingernail, and if you hear a crunch, then you can take it.

Baker's dozen

By the way, the most dangerous product in terms of pesticide contamination is strawberry. This berry has been at the top of the corresponding rating for several years, which is made by the Environmental Working Group.

There are only 13 positions in the top of 2018. The second is spinach. The top ten also includes nectarines, apples, grapes, peaches, cherries, pears, tomatoes, celery. Potatoes are ranked eleventh, followed by bell peppers and chili peppers.

The organization also released a list of 15 products that contain the minimum amount of pesticides. The safest was the avocado. It is followed by sweet corn, pineapple, kale, onion, frozen peas, papaya, asparagus, mango, eggplant, white cantaloupe, kiwi, cantaloupe, cauliflower and broccoli.

The Environmental Working Group has been publishing a Buyer's Guide to Pesticides since 2004, Medportal writes. During the study, specialists wash or clean the products in the same way as consumers usually do, and only then take samples.