washing fruits and vegetables
 

We are going to Central America. Local fruits and vegetables may be
contaminated. What do we wash them with (e.g., 1 gal desalinated water
with 1 tbsp clorox)?


Hanz

washing fruits and vegetables
 

I'd look into 'food grade Hydrogen Peroxide". Touted to be the best
solution

washing fruits and vegetables
 

On Nov 12, 9:43*am, Hanz wrote:
We are going to Central America. *Local fruits and vegetables may be
contaminated. *What do we wash them with (e.g., 1 gal desalinated water
with 1 tbsp clorox)?

Hanz

Hello Hanz,

Did you get the cruising guide I suggested?
What kind of boat do you have?
Where are you departing from?
How many crew?
When you kicking off?

Joe

washing fruits and vegetables
 

On Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:15:13 -0500, Gogarty
wrote:

In article ,
says...
We are going to Central America. Local fruits and vegetables may be
contaminated. What do we wash them with (e.g., 1 gal desalinated water
with 1 tbsp clorox)?


Hanz

If you read the newspapers then you know that you don't have to leave the
good old USA to get contamintaed fruits and vegetables. Always wash
regardless of source.

Half a cup of Clorox (or generic equivalent) in a gallon of water will
pretty much sterilize the outside of anything you put in it. Not only do
you get clean veggies you can also greatly extend the shelf life of
things like potatoes, onions, other root vegetables and even greens. Dunk
them, let them dry and package them. Rinse in clean water before using.


Not to question the method but are you sure that your mixing
instructions are correct - half cup in a gallon - is correct? It seems
awful strong to me.

I have used 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon of bleach per gallon of water for
drinking water and while I have no way to tell whether it really
killed all the bacteria I didn't get sick from it.

Cheers,

Bruce
(bruceinbangkokatgmaildotcom)

washing fruits and vegetables
 

On Fri, 13 Nov 2009 07:39:14 -0500, Gogarty
wrote:

In article ,
says...
On Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:15:13 -0500, Gogarty
wrote:

In article ,
says...
We are going to Central America. Local fruits and vegetables may be
contaminated. What do we wash them with (e.g., 1 gal desalinated water
with 1 tbsp clorox)?


Hanz

If you read the newspapers then you know that you don't have to leave the
good old USA to get contamintaed fruits and vegetables. Always wash
regardless of source.

Half a cup of Clorox (or generic equivalent) in a gallon of water will
pretty much sterilize the outside of anything you put in it. Not only do
you get clean veggies you can also greatly extend the shelf life of
things like potatoes, onions, other root vegetables and even greens. Dunk
them, let them dry and package them. Rinse in clean water before using.


Not to question the method but are you sure that your mixing
instructions are correct - half cup in a gallon - is correct? It seems
awful strong to me.

I have used 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon of bleach per gallon of water for
drinking water and while I have no way to tell whether it really
killed all the bacteria I didn't get sick from it.

Cheers,

Bruce
(bruceinbangkokatgmaildotcom)

Oh, I am willing to admit that a cup per gallon is overkill. Basically, if
you can smell the bleach in the water solution you have enough. But we are
not talking here about making water fit for drinking but making veggies fit
for eating, and preserving them. Hydrogen peroxide has been mentioned. It
will work too but you can't really smell it. And when it evaporates it
leaves no residue for continuing protection. Bleach soultion, when dried,
does leave a bacteria-killing residue on the skin of the veggies and keeps
them fresh for an astonishingly long time.


Certainly if you can smell it you have enough; in fact you have more
then you need.

Yes, I understood that you were cleaning veggies, not water, it just
seemed like a pretty rich mix. However the chlorine dissipates fairly
quickly, although I did once dose a shallow well in N. Thailand with
calcium hypochlorite I got from the base water plant and had to hire a
guy to bail the water out twice before the water could be used for
anything except bleaching clothes :-)

Cheers,

Bruce
(bruceinbangkokatgmaildotcom)

washing fruits and vegetables
 

Hanz wrote:
We are going to Central America. Local fruits and vegetables may be
contaminated. What do we wash them with (e.g., 1 gal desalinated water
with 1 tbsp clorox)?


Besides what you've been told (good advice), make sure you put all your
produce in a net sort of carrying thing. Then dip the produce into the
ocean BEFORE bringing aboard (unless your anchorage is badly polluted).

This will cause vermin to drown or flee your produce. It's bad enough
how roaches can come aboard hiding in your clothes WHILE YOU WEAR THEM.
One load of fruit can infest your boat if you aren't careful.

washing fruits and vegetables
 

On Nov 12, 9:43*am, Hanz wrote:
We are going to Central America. *Local fruits and vegetables may be
contaminated. *What do we wash them with (e.g., 1 gal desalinated water
with 1 tbsp clorox)?

Hanz

Jeezus christ Hans your going to CA.

Catch a few big tunas and chop them into little bits, drown them with
a couple of lemons and limes in a big bowl, add a red onion peeled and
chopped, couple of tomatoes, diced jalapenos, diced celery, some fresh
cilantro, minced garlic, dash of olive oil, little sea salt,
pepper ......man you went and made me hungry.

The lime and lemon juice will kill the bugs and it keeps well in the
box. Clorox is for kids.

Make sure to get some Jimica roots,chop em up toss them into a bowl
of lime juice let is soak and then spice it up with a bit of chili
pepper, perfect for a long watch on the wheel. And in Belize you can
get some big bags of salted pumpkin seeds that are to die for. There
is a little old lady on the north side of town in san pedro that will
fix you up with the best veggies. Just ask anyone about the lady who
got run over and now runs a fruit and veggie stand, if you buy alot of
stuff she will pull the good stuff out from behind her stand and fix
you up right.

Joe

washing fruits and vegetables
 

On Nov 13, 9:04*pm, Joe wrote:
On Nov 12, 9:43*am, Hanz wrote:

We are going to Central America. *Local fruits and vegetables may be
contaminated. *What do we wash them with (e.g., 1 gal desalinated water
with 1 tbsp clorox)?

Hanz

Jeezus christ Hans your going to CA.

Catch a few big tunas and chop them into little bits, drown them with
a couple of lemons and limes in a big bowl, add a red onion peeled and
chopped, couple of tomatoes, diced jalapenos, diced celery, some fresh
cilantro, minced garlic, dash of olive oil, little sea salt,
pepper ......man you went and made me hungry.

The lime and lemon juice will kill the bugs and it keeps well in the
box. Clorox is for kids.

No the lime and lemon juice will NOT kill bacteria.

A famous case is described in the book, _The Coming Plague_. There was
a small cholera outbreak in Chile. It came from a freighter flushing
its bilges too close to shore. Some minister of health suggested that
people not eat fish for a while. Naturally the fishing industry was
outraged and prevailed on the government to countermand that
suggestion. In fact the President of Chile went on TV and ate ceviche,
proclaiming that everything was all right. Of course it was never
mentioned that the Prez' ceviche came from a hundred miles offshore.

The small cholera outbreak turned into a full-blown epidemic that
killed hundreds of people.

I would suggest checking the FDA or CDC websites for more accurate
information. Bleach and peroxide were mentioned, and they are probably
good. I have also heard that potassium permanganate is also effective,
but it might be harder to get a hold of.

Good luck,

Chris


*Make sure to get some Jimica roots,chop em up toss them into a bowl
of lime juice let is soak and then spice it up with a bit of chili
pepper, perfect for a long watch on the wheel. And in Belize you can
get some big bags of salted pumpkin seeds that are to die for. There
is a little old lady on the north side of town in san pedro that will
fix you up with the best veggies. Just ask anyone about the lady who
got run over and now runs a fruit and veggie stand, if you buy alot of
stuff she will pull the good stuff out from behind her stand and fix
you up right.

Joe

washing fruits and vegetables
 

Chris wrote:
... FDA or CDC websites for more accurate
information. Bleach and peroxide were mentioned, and they are probably
good. I have also heard that potassium permanganate is also effective,
but it might be harder to get a hold of.

Good luck,

Chris

All strong oxidizers. I think potassium permanganate, that former
favorite of chemistry sets for kids, is now discouraged as carcinogenic

Brian W

washing fruits and vegetables
 

On Nov 19, 7:48 am, Gogarty wrote:
In article
,
says...

On Nov 13, 9:04 pm, Joe wrote:
On Nov 12, 9:43 am, Hanz wrote:

I have also heard that potassium permanganate is also effective,but it might be harder to get a hold of.

That's the word! That's the word! In college we used to make a glass
cleaning solution that consisted of potassium permanganate and sulfuric
acid. Wicked stuff, but your lab glassware got really, really clean.

I kind of doubt that. This from Wikipedia:

"Solid KMnO4 is a strong oxidizer and thus should be kept separated
from oxidizable substances. Reaction with concentrated sulfuric acid
produces the highly explosive manganese(VII) oxide (Mn2O7)."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potassium_permanganate

Chris