What is the first thing you do when you get fruit and vegetables at home? Wash it with water, right? But is it sufficient to clean them just with plain water?
Well, if you don’t wash it properly with water, the residue of pesticides or contaminants may still be present. Without realizing you may be consuming and serving contaminated food. With the rapid spread of COVID-19, the need for sanitization of food products is extremely important – now more than ever.
The vegetable purifier is one such option that helps to ensure that your veggies and fruits are pesticide-free. Let’s understand how it can help you.
Contaminants in Your Produce
Before moving ahead, let’s first understand what all can contaminate your food items.
Common Impurities: First of all, pesticides are a major concern. While it is washed off before delivering you, some residue may still be present. Other impurities include crop toxins and wax used to enhance the glaze of veggies and fruits.
Handling: In addition to impurities on the crop, unhygienic handling can also make them unsafe to consume without thorough cleaning.
COVID-19 germs: It is an additional and recent threat that may be lurking on your vegetables and fruits. The germs of people who may have touched the food items before you purchased them may persist. Besides, an increase in cases of COVID-19 in fruits and vegetable vendors is also a concern.
Why Is It Important to Sanitize Food Products?
Almost 3–5 billion cases and nearly 1.8 million deaths annually occur globally due to contaminated food and water. About 13.2% of these cases occur at household levels. Foodborne diseases can be prevented by cleaning food items properly so that they are free from dirt and impurities.
Furthermore, the residual pesticide may have the following effects on your body:
Abdominal pain, diarrhea, and nausea
Breathing problems
Dizziness and anxiety
Abnormal coordination between the body and brain
While there may be no evidence of COVID-19 transmission through fruits and vegetables, according to The Federal Drug Administration (FDA), sanitizing them will help you with peace of mind than anything else.
How Does Vegetable Purifier Help?
Majority vegetable purifiers utilize ozone to clean your food products. These purifiers take oxygen from the air and convert them to ozone (O3) that oxidizes pesticides, viruses, bacteria, and chemicals.
While water may not be able to clean all these impurities, ozone removes them all to ensure that you have safe and healthy food. While ozone removes impurities from the surface of the food, it retains all the important nutrients.
The ozone disinfection kills viruses, bacteria, and other microorganisms by breaking their protective covering.
Some vegetable purifiers also have ultraviolet (UV) and reverse osmosis (RO) membranes. They enhance the pesticide and germ removal property and retain the essential nutrients.
How You Can Sanitize Food Items with Vegetable Purifier
Cleaning your produce is very easy with a vegetable purifier. You just have to put the vegetables and fruits in a bowl with adequate water. Most purifiers can also purify seafood and meat.
Now, submerge the O3 tube into the bowl. Based on your needs, you can carry out the process for 15 – 30 minutes. Once this is done, clean the food items with clean water.
Wrapping it up!
Your fruits and vegetables go through quite a journey before reaching you. They can catch on pesticides, germs, and toxins during this process. If they are not adequately washed with water, these impurities may persist.
Effective sanitization is important now more than ever because of the rapidly spreading COVID-19 pandemic. In such cases, a vegetable purifier may come in handy. The ozone technology in these purifiers destroys all the impurities, making them safe to consume. So, eat safe and stay safe!
Disclaimer: Indian Health Bureau does not claim any responsibility for the information contained in this article. The information may not hold good for everyone. The post is for general awareness only and should not be construed as a substitute for qualified medical opinion. Please consult your doctor to know what is good for you.
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