You eat this daily: can 15 minutes and 10 g/L cut 25.1% pesticide worries from your fruit?

Shoppers want a fix that works at home, costs pennies, and fits a busy evening. Monitoring data show a sharp rise in PFAS detections on fruit over the past decade, from 3.4% of samples in 2011 to 25.1% in 2021. Vegetables climbed from 2% to 8.6%. Against that backdrop, a humble store‑cupboard powder and a 15‑minute pause are changing routines at the sink.

The rising worry: what’s really sitting on your produce

Not all residues behave the same. Some sit on the skin and lift off easily. Others migrate through the peel and lodge within the tissues. Specialists group them as contact, translaminar and systemic pesticides. The first category responds well to washing. The last can persist inside the fruit or vegetable, however thorough your scrub.

A cold tap rinse already trims the load, so it remains a first step. Timing matters. Wash just before eating or cooking to avoid nutrient loss and to limit any new contamination in the fridge. Drying properly after washing removes additional traces that clung during the soak.

Wash first, cut later. Slicing before rinsing can push residues from the surface into the flesh.

The 15-minute bicarbonate bath: the simple science

The most practical routine relies on bicarbonate of soda and patience measured in minutes, not hours. It is cheap, gentle on produce, and easy to repeat every week.

• Rinse produce under running water for about one minute, turning items with your hands.
• Prepare a cold bath: 10 g bicarbonate of soda per litre of water. A large salad bowl often holds around 3 litres, so use 30 g.
• Immerse for at least 15 minutes. Agitate once or twice to move the water across the surface.
• Brush firm skins gently with a soft vegetable brush. Think apples, carrots, cucumbers and melons.
• Rinse again under the tap and dry thoroughly with clean kitchen roll or a cloth.

The winning ratio is 10 g per litre for 15 minutes. That simple pairing drives down surface residues.

Why bicarbonate helps

Bicarbonate raises the water’s pH. That change loosens many contact pesticides and helps nudge waxes and dirt away from the skin. It is not a silver bullet for systemic chemicals inside the flesh, yet it can significantly reduce what sits on the outside. For families, it offers a repeatable, low‑cost habit that makes a measurable dent.

Vinegar, brushing and the tricky exceptions

White vinegar has a place too, especially for waxes and soil stuck in creases. Use a bath made with one third vinegar to two thirds water. Soak for 15 to 20 minutes, stir, rinse well and dry. Many households rotate between a bicarbonate bath and a vinegar bath depending on the food and the grime they see.

The brush does the heavy lifting on thick skins. Use light strokes on apples, carrots, cucumbers and melons. Avoid vigorous scrubbing that scuffs the skin and leaves bruises. For lettuces and tender herbs, swish leaves through the bath, then rinse and spin dry.

Some items break the rulebook. Soft berries only need a swift dip, roughly 30 seconds in clean cold water, then drain and pat dry. Do not add vinegar or bicarbonate to that dip. Mushrooms take no bath at all; wipe them with a clean cloth to keep texture and flavour. Peeling can remove a share of residues on the outside, yet it also strips away fibre and micronutrients in the skin. Blanching helps for certain vegetables, but watch texture.

For the rushed cook

If time is tight, an express option exists. Dissolve about one tablespoon of bicarbonate per litre for a shorter bath. Rinse and dry carefully before storing or serving. When even that feels too long, give produce a thorough cold rinse just before it reaches the plate. Keep unwashed goods in the fridge to avoid soggy leaves and faster spoilage.

A quick guide you can pin to the fridge

Storage and handling that make the wash work harder

• Wash close to mealtime. Moisture left on produce in the fridge can invite spoilage and new contamination.
• Dry well. Residues cling to droplets; a few extra seconds with a towel helps.
• Keep a separate board for ready‑to‑eat fruit to avoid cross‑contact with raw meat or fish.
• Remove and bin the outer leaves of cabbages and lettuces; they hold most grime.
• Skip dish soap and bleach. They are not designed for food and may leave their own residues.
• Do not combine vinegar and bicarbonate in the same bath. They neutralise each other and blunt the effect.

For a 3‑litre bowl, use 30 g bicarbonate — roughly two level tablespoons — and keep the soak to 15 minutes.

What this routine can and cannot achieve

No kitchen method can remove chemicals that have moved deep into the flesh. Rotation helps here: vary your fruit and vegetable choices, prioritise seasonal items, and peel selectively when skins are tough and nutrition losses are small. A consistent rinse‑and‑soak routine still brings a clear benefit by cutting what sits on the surface, which is the share most households can realistically influence.

Numbers that matter to households

The arithmetic favours bicarbonate. A typical 500 g tub costs about £1. Using 30 g for a large bowl sets you back roughly 6 pence per session. If you shop twice a week, that comes to about 50 pence a month to lower surface residues for the whole family. The time cost is modest too: one minute at the tap, a 15‑minute soak while you prep something else, and a rinse.

Extra angles to consider

Think about water quality and temperature. Cool or cold water protects texture and slows nutrient loss. Hard water still works with bicarbonate, though you may notice a slight film on the bowl; rinse it away. For root vegetables from muddy boxes, a two‑stage approach pays off: a rinse to remove soil, then the bicarbonate bath.

Meal prep can integrate the method without fuss. Soak apples and carrots for tomorrow’s packed lunches while tonight’s pasta cooks. Use a small colander inside the bowl to lift produce out without splashing. If you compost at home, skip pouring used bath water onto plants; bicarbonate adds sodium they do not need. Pour it down the sink instead.