Sorry to say it but vegetable sprays that claim they "wash the peciticides off the vegetables/fruits" are false advertising, but what else is new???
The pesticides are IN the veggies once they've grown in that soil that's been sprayed AND once they themselves are sprayed with pecticides. The only answer is organic, if you truly want to avoid the pesticides. The wash is just washing off the dirt, it can't get rid of what's inside the actual leaf. Think of it like your skin, if you got a chemical on your skin, even though you wash it off, some of it will penetrate your skin no matter what and will go in your system. Same with your fruits and veggies. The only solution is to "peel" the skin off, but then you are losing the majority of the nutrients in there. So what's the lesser of the two evils: a) eat the pesticides (HECK NO) or b) peel the skin so you don't eat the pesticides but you loose all the nutrients? If you can't afford organic, I say go with b, but if you can afford organic, then please, choose organic whenever possible.
Here's a great article that confirms what I've stated above (from the UK no less, cuz Europe seems to be all over their food system and making sure they keep it as healthy as possible - despite the fact that Europe's restaurant food is nothing to write home about, but I digress, LOL!... sorry Brits).
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. :(
The better answer is to find some local Farmer's Markets and buy organic produce from them or find little "fruit markets" that are actual smaller grocery stores (usually they're Latino) and often they have an organic section that is cheaper than Whole Foods.
Anyway, if you do use the wash, just remember to wait to rinse your veggies right before eating them. Don't do it as soon as you get them home. They've already been "triple rinsed" from the mega machines before being put on your grocery shelf, which only limits their lifespan. I was shocked to find out today that fresh spinach can last a month if you don't rinse it until you're going to use it. Wow! You better know that the Vons, Jewel, Whole Foods, etc. (grocery stores) will not, because they're already rinsed at least 3 times (not to mention the gazillion times they "mist" the veggies while they are sitting out to give us the ILLUSION that they are FRESHER just because they are wet. That's a total marketing gimic, btw).
When I get my CSA veggies delivered, they have been rinsed only once and I take them out of the bag, wrap them in paper towels and then turn the bag inside out to eliminate any moisture left in the bag and then put them back in the bag and in the crisper in the fridge. I can honestly tell you that my greens last 2-3 times longer from the CSA than anything I buy in the stores.
If you're not familiar with what a "CSA" is, here's a great link to learn all about it:
And if you are in the Chicagoland area, I highly recommend the organic farm that I get my weekly CSA delivered from: http://www.tomatomountain.com/
Just remember, the majority of what we are "sold" in the mainstream is all about advertising and getting us to BELIEVE whatever they are selling us. So in reality, if you believe the exact OPPOSITE, you almost always will be right (check out my next blog #30 re FALSE ADVERTISING and what we should know about it).
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