Keeping Your Fruits & Vegetables Safe

June 11, 2007 02:06 PM PDT

Food safety scares have become all too common. But there are some things you can do to make sure your produce is safe to eat. The Healthline 3 Team is watching out for you with tips on how to clean fruits and vegetables. Some of the information may surprise you.

A lot of people don't wash melon before cutting into it. But dietitian Holly Brewer says you should. "You know it's an interesting thing. A lot of people think because they're going to peel their melon they don't need to wash it. But there's a lot of dirt and there can be other things that can be on the outside of the rind and when you go to slice through it, whatever is on the outside is going to get on the inside."

Actually, Holly recommends that people wash all of their produce. And the FDA agrees. That means you should even wash bananas. "People think, 'I'm peeling the banana, I'm not touching it with my mouth, I don't need to wash it.' But your hands are touching the outside of the banana and you don't know where that banana's been."

But what about bagged lettuce that's labeled ready to eat? Holly says to be safe, you should wash that too. Along with peeled carrots. There are products available, to help you clean your produce. Or there's a cheaper alternative.

You can make your own rinse with ordinary dishwashing liquid. Use one teaspoon of soap for every gallon of lukewarm water you put in the sink. Or you can just use plain water. Then use a brush. Holly recommends using a soft brush on produce with a thin skin. And a brush with harder bristles on things like melon.

Holly tells us you should even clean produce that you're going to cook because heat doesn't kill all of the germs.

There is another safety tip for produce that's kept in the refrigerator. The FDA recommends that you keep the temperature in your fridge at 40 degrees or below.