Those who know me well, know that being ‘green’ is pretty important to me. In many ways, I go out of my way to find new products that will help me live a healthier life without being too cumbersome to use. I mostly cook homemade food for my family from wholesome unprocessed ingredients. The only canned foods you’ll find in my recycling is crushed tomatoes and I try to buy all my fruits and vegetables fresh and mostly organic (sometimes I don’t have a choice here in Louisiana).
I’ve been using a produce wash from whole foods for over 5 years that has been working…just ok (better than water but not great.) When I stumbled upon Eat Cleaner Vegetable & Fruit Wash on Facebook, I just had to try it out! I bought two 4oz concentrate bottles and was very excited to receive 2 additional bottles to give away to my readers (Thank you Eat Cleaner!)
What’s Eat Cleaner? Eat Cleaner is the only all-natural, tasteless and odorless food wash + wipes + wipes for produce, seafood and poultry that is lab proven to remove over 99.9+% of Salmonella and E.coli from the surface of food. Additionally, Eat Cleaner helps inhibit food browning while prolonging the shelf life of fresh produce, saving consumers money.
How does Eat Cleaner work? Eat Cleaner products are formulated to strip away wax to thoroughly cleanse residues and dirt trapped under the surface. Eat Cleaner also removes surface debris from seafood and poultry and effectively cleans food preparation and cutting surfaces to help deter cross contamination. (I only tried the Veg & Fruit wash).
Some of you might be thinking that you have washed your food with water and you’ve been fine. I don’t know about you, but it grosses me out when I buy grapes and they are dusty and covered with a sticky matte residue (pesticides anyone?) Or, how about your shiny pretty apple?
This week I set out to do my own testing and see if this new wash really worked. Below are some store bought grapes right out of the bag (Gross!)
I filled my salad spinner with water and two cap fulls of Eat Cleaner Fruit and Vegetable Wash. I also soaked it for about 3-5min (it says 1-2 min on bottle… but a mom can only dream of not being interrupted)
In case you needed more evidence, I set out to test the other claim that Eat Cleaner states on their website: “Eat Cleaner inhibits food browning and prolongs shelf life.” This caught my attention. My son loves apples; however, when I cut them up for him in his lunch bag they are brown and not so appealing by the time he gets to eat them.
Of course, I got busy! I went to bed and the next morning the apples were still there. It’s 7:22am (10+hrs since the apple got a little Eat Cleaner spray on them) and the unsprayed apple was not only really brown but also soggy and flimsy! (Definitely not eating material)
I am a total convert. While I won’t name the other food wash I was previously using, I will tell you that I won’t use it anymore. Around 8am I took a bite of the Eat Cleaner apple and it was still crispy. I’ve been washing broccoli, carrots, apples, asparagus, and pears this week. All of which were significantly cleaner and I believe their claim that it removes the waxy stuff and residues from produce many hands (on
Do you know how many hands (on avg) touch your food before you wash it?
——
A huge thanks to Eat Cleaner for making a wonderful product I am happy to stand behind. I did not receive any financial compensation for this post but I did receive two 4oz Eat Cleaner Fruit & Veg Wash Concentrates to give away to my readers. All opinions expressed in this post are my own.
Oberon
Thanks for the article. I saw the Eat Cleaner used on a cooking show and was very curious to see what it was and if it really did anything. I found the company website, but of course that’s not an objective site.
But I have to say that I didn’t find your analysis very telling or very scientific. Grapes are often covered with natural yeast, called “bloom.” This is what you’re seeing on your grapes. It can be washed off with water and is not harmful in any event.
In the clean test, you appear to be judging cleanliness by the amount of shine. That’s not a very valid measure. A dry grape does not have to shine to be clean. Rub a grape with a drop of oil and it’ll look just as shiny as the sample on the right. Does that make it cleaner than the same grape without the oil? I’d say no, since I want to eat a grape, not an oiled grape. I’m not saying that the product has oil in it, just giving an example of how shine is no measure of cleanliness.
The oxidation (browning) test was interesting. The product probably contains an antioxidant ingredient. You can get the same effect with a spritz of lemon juice or ascorbic acid (vitamin C). When making an apple pie, I’ll squeeze a lemon into the bowl that I place the sliced apples in, and then give them a stir to prevent browning. This, so me, is the best proven benefit of the Eat Cleaner, as the antioxidant will, as you saw, extend the shelf life of food just as the product website claims. But a lemon is a lot cheaper than this product, ounce per ounce. To be fair, lemon works great in an apple pie, and isn’t necessarily a desired flavor on lettuce or other fruits and vegetables (say, potatoes, another easily browning vegetable). So there is a valid application for a tasteless antioxidant.
Again, thanks for the article. I think I’ll hold of on purchasing the Eat Cleaner until I see a more scientific critique of how it works.
Laura Fuentes
well, this isn’t a “scientific” test but It’s been over a year and I am still washing all my fruits and vegies with eat cleaner. the murkiness that comes out of my fruit is surreal and it IS much cleaner. I have not found another cleaning product to work as well. thanks for your suggestions
kim mutuc
1. 20 pairs of hands
2. gets rid of the wax and pesticides that water can not remove’
3. Grab and Go Wipes and i think i counted 5 some are grouped together in gift packages
dawn
1. At least 20 sets
2. Some pesticides and/or chemicals can not be penetrated by water
3. 10 , Grab n go wipes
mightynaynay(at)cs.com
amber gi
yuck! effective video.so now i relly want to win!
at least 20
pesticides, bacteria even viruses
bio-degradable wipes
5 on website(counting commercial products as one b/c they had it in it’s own category)
tattgiff at centurytel dot net
Lilah Juliet
1. 40 hands or more! ( 20 sets!)
2. Many chemicals and pesticides cannot be broken down with just water, including those above and below surface; 99.9+% effective in destroying Salmonella and E.Coli
3. 10 products on website; Grab and Go Wipes would be a favorite to take with us on the run!
Sabrina Chen
1. 20
2. Washes away germs, pesticides and dirt. Prolongs shelf life
3. 9 products total. Grab ‘N Go wipes
Shaunda Eppes
1. At least 20 sets
2. Some pesticides or chemicals can’t be penetrated by water
3. Grab and go wipes for fruit and veggies
Shaunda.Eppes at gmail dot com
mike smith
@scoobydoo197102 would love to win this
Wendy Young, LMSW, BCD
WOWSA…and I just bought a bunch….a BIG bunch of grapes tonight! Yikes! Who knew about the apples…that’s GR8!
Wendy @Kidlutions