How to make fruits and vegetables safe for consuming, especially in the times of COVID-19 is a common concern today.
Traditional technologies for fruits and vegetable sanitization demand utilizing water with or without a sanitizing for washing fresh fruits and vegetables.
While chlorine is widely used for sanitizing fresh produce, but it has limited applications as a fruit and vegetable washer. Furthermore, human health and environment-conscious communities have stated concerns about the by-products of chlorine that remain behind on food.
Should you disinfect your fruits and vegetables?
This question can be answered largely if you are already aware of the fact that COVID-19 can spread through food. However, it is a known fact that high concentrations of pesticides are used every year to control insects that feed on fruits and vegetables.
Available technologies do not fully destroy the chemicals left behind on the surfaces of fruits and vegetables. Such chemical residues react with other chemicals they come in contact with for forming harmful by-products.
You and your loved ones ultimately end up consuming these chemicals that might affect their health in the long run. This is all the more reason why you should consider buying the best vegetable purifier from the market.
Accumulating hazardous chemicals not only harms your health but also your immune system. Therefore you should always remain cautious of the usage of bleaching agents, disinfectants, sanitizers, along with other chemicals often used in food processing.
Why does Ozonated water purification help?
Ozone is beneficial for washing fruits and vegetables because it as an oxidizing agent. It is far stronger than common disinfectants and effective in terminating a wide spectrum of germs. Ozone is proven to kill viruses and bacteria like E. coli, Listeria, as well as other food pathogens. Plus, it promises fast action without leaving behind any residues.
The Ozone molecule contains a lot of energy. It has a short half-life in water (only about 20 minutes!) and when it breaks down, it releases the oxygen molecule. Thus, even when not in use for a long time, ozonated water does not pose a serious health hazard as some of the other chemical disinfectants commonly in use today.
How To Make Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Safe For Consuming?
Fresh vegetables and fruits should be washed first by ozonated water, and then this wash water can be again treated with a combination of filtration and ozonation. This already treated wash water is devoid of germs, color, odor, and suspended particulate matter and can be recycled for reduction of water usage.
Unlike traditional chlorine-dependent washing purifiers, here the discharged wastewater is free of any chemicals after the ozonation process. And this is a stressful concern related to health and the environment. Ozone is also proven to destroy like chlorinated by-products.
Gaseous ozone is a potent fumigation and sanitation agent that can sanitize fresh as well as stored to stop the growth of mold, bacteria, and yeast on the food’s surface while controlling insects thriving on it.
Furthermore, it can remove unwanted flavor generated by germs while chemically eliminating ethylene gas for slowing down the fruits and vegetables’ ripening process, thus allowing sage cleansing and storage for the long term.
Official Statement from the World Health Organization regarding fruits and vegetables’ washing in the context of COVID-19
COVID-19 is primarily a respiratory disease and its immediate transmission occurs through direct person-to-person physical contact. This means that if you come in direct contact with droplets created due to the coughing and sneezing of an infected person, then your risk of an infection increases.
Although certain people think they might get a COVID19 infection by eating food on which the coronavirus may be present, that cannot be confirmed yet. No scientific research has been done to conclusively suggest that food can be responsible for the transmission of the coronavirus.
Conclusion
It’s always better to be better safe than sorry. Although doubtful, you should still avoid the chances of an infection by avoiding fruits and vegetables that might have the coronavirus on it.
Furthermore, you should be vigilant enough to maintain standard hygiene practices as far as openly displayed food, like salad, fresh fruits, and vegetables, as well as bakery products, are concerned.
As a healthy precaution, you must always wash fruit and vegetables with ozonated water before consuming them. And this goes without saying; you should only trust the best-ozonated water purifier for this purpose.