Is Washing Fruits And Vegetable With Soap During COVID-19 Safe?

The world is facing a strict lock-down because of the further spreading of the novel coronavirus, a virus that spreads through droplet transmission from one person to another. People’s life has dramatically changed and people have to change their everyday habits and way of living, having to face different fears every single day. They had to stay literally locked down at their homes and to social distance from their families and friends, and from other people. It is considered that one of the ways to fight against the COVID-19 is by constantly washing our hands with water and soap. The soap kills and removes all the existing bacteria and viruses from our hands that way avoiding them from entering through the rest of our body.

Because of the new situation with the virus that was new for all of us, some people fearing the potential of getting infected by the coronavirus started to wash absolutely everything with soap. Not only the hands, the furniture, the clothes, but they went even a steep ahead and started to wash with soap even food, such as vegetables and fruits. A private doctor practicing in Michigan, Dr Jeffery VanWingen, even advises his viewers to wash fruits and vegetables with soap and water.

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But, is washing fruits and vegetables with soap safe?

A professor and safety specialist in North Carolina State University, Benjamin Chapman has expressed his opinion about this question, saying that the consumption of any kind of soap and detergents has always been and will always be harmful for people’s health and has lead to serious health problems. He continues “We’ve known for 60 years that there are toxicity issues about consuming household dish soaps. Drinking dish soap or eating it can lead to nausea can lead to [an] upset stomach. It’s not a compound that our stomach is built to deal with.”

Washing fruits and vegetables with water is enough

Experts advise that washing our hands with water and soap is the best way to fight against COVID-19 and that we should continue this habit even after the pandemic is over. About the food (vegetables and fruits) they say that washing fruits or vegetables with soap is no way going to help, so it is enough to wash them with water , that way avoiding to provoke other health problems like nausea, diarrhea, abdominal pain…