Cleaning Fruits and Vegetables...Ozone, Pesticides, Bacteria, Viruses And Heavy Metals. Falsehoods About "Organic"

Cleaning Vegetables and Fruit in Ozone Water

Cleaning fruits and vegetables is an important step in food preparation that helps to remove harmful bacteria, pesticides, and dirt from the surface of produce. Traditional cleaning methods rely on rinsing and scrubbing with water and sometimes soap. However, there is a newer and more effective method for cleaning produce that is gaining popularity – using ozone water. Ozone water is a powerful disinfectant that can eliminate up to 99.99% of bacteria and viruses on produce. In this article, we will explore the benefits of cleaning fruits and vegetables in ozone water, how to use ozone water for cleaning produce, and the science behind why it's effective.

Why Is This Important

The video shown below is a news program which talks about Strawberries. It happened in late 2022. Frozen "Organic" Strawberries blamed for an outbreak of Hepatitis A. Even though this happened last year it has been going around social media like it just happening for shock value from merchants trying to scare you into buying "snake oil". I am going to tell you a few truths in this video, not to try and scare you, just know that they may be some triggering knowledge I am about to go through.

 Dangers Hidden In Plain Sight

According to the USDA, in order to be certified as Organic, the product must contain a least 90% organic content. It does allow the use of synthetic materials in the growing and processing of the product. This is true for crops, animals and prepared foods. The allowed list looks like a laundry list for crops. I will leave a link for you to check it. The National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances.

For the news story above, I am not sure where they say the bacteria was introduced to the strawberries. Just know that there are a lot of handling stages for all foods you consume. It could have just been a Friday and the guy was in a hurry to get home and ready for the bar. Sorry, but you know they say never buy a car built on a Monday or a Friday. There are tons of bacteria in the natural world, and some are good, and some are bad. If you have a healthy Immune system, then you can fight off just about all of them. There are actually far worse things in organic and inorganically grown foods. 

Let's talk about pesticides. How about DDT. Some of you are too young for this one but it was a popular pesticide actually created in the 1880's and banned in 1973. It was really popular by states to spray ditch lines along the highways as it killed bedbugs. Favorite of a lot, if not all, of farmers as well. Problem is that in the areas that have been sprayed with this pesticide, any food grown there for 100 years after it was sprayed will have DDT in it. Correction: They say it will degrade from 10 to 100 years after application depending on environmental conditions. Here is an article from Canada about DDT in their Lakes.

Here is a statement from me on all pesticides created since then to now. They are even worse, don't really degrade, and are in everything! Yes, the EPA has guidelines about how much is permissible in your drinking water. 

 Cleaning Vegetables and Fruits 

The most common methods for cleaning vegetables and fruits include rinsing with water, using vinegar or lemon juice solutions, and using commercial produce wash products. This is effective in removing the dirt and some could eliminate some of the bacteria from the produce, but if you are rinsing in tap or even bottled water (yes, they have also detected all of these things in bottled water), then there are residues of other contaminants on the fruit or vegetable. Please note I have not included microplastics in this article, but they affect all life in the planet.  Let me tell you of a better way to handle cleaning your produce.

How Does Ozone Water Clean Fruits and Vegetables

When produce is soaked in ozone water, the ozone gas reacts with and breaks down contaminants on the surface of the produce. This oxidation process effectively eliminates harmful bacteria, viruses, and pesticides from the produce without leaving any residue.

Summary Of Benefits When Cleaning With Ozone Water

Using ozone water to clean your produce has several benefits, including:

• It effectively eliminates bacteria, viruses, and pesticides without leaving residue.
•  It is a chemical-free alternative to traditional cleaning methods.
•  It extends the shelf life of produce by eliminating harmful contaminants that can cause spoilage.
•  It is an environmentally friendly cleaning solution that does not produce any harmful byproducts.

List Of Bacteria and Heavy Metals Proven To Be Eliminated With Ozone

• Bacillus Bacteria is destroyed by 0.2 m/l in about 30 seconds
• Bacillus Anthracis (Anthrax) is also susceptible to ozone
• Bacillus cereus is a 99% kill after 5 minutes at 0.12 m/l in water
• Cladosporium is a 90% kill at 0.10 ppm for 21. minutes
• Diphtheria Pathogen is destroyed by 1.5 to 2 mg/l
• Enterovirus Virus 
• E-coli in clean or wastewater
• Hepatitis A virus and Herpes virus
• Legionella pneumophila
• Poliomyelitis virus
• Salmonella bacteria

• Copper
• Arsenic
• Zinc
• Cadmium

With Heavy metals it is dependent on the amount of ozone and the time of ozone present in the water. It does remove them but a preferred method it to have a unit connected to the supply water entering into the house. 

How Ozone Is Able To Remove All These Things

Ozone produces O3 and is a powerful oxidizer. It breaks down chemical bonds of pesticides and cell walls of bacteria to eliminate them from produce. Ozone water is also a very good disinfectant that can be used to clean tables, cooking surfaces and remove stains from clothes. It also does not leave any residue. 

Steps To Cleaning Fruits and Vegetables Using Ozone Water

1. Prepare 2 bowls big enough to hold your vegetables. 
2. Rinse the vegetable or fruit in water to remove any dirt.
3. Fill both bowls with enough water to cover your vegetables.
4. Turn on your ozone generator and use according to manufacture suggestions. You will be putting a bubbler stone in the water. You want two bowls for this as you will bubble the produce and then use the second bubbled water to do a final rinse of your produce. 

You don't want to rinse it in your tap water or bottled water unless you have a whole house filter installed or a countertop RO system which will remove all these contaminates from your drinking water. You can find good suppliers of these systems, the one I personally use is here. It is good for us because we rent an apartment and we can take it with us. If you wish to look around Amazon has several options as well.

Where to Find A Good Quality Ozone Water Machine?

Ozone Water Machines come in a variety of different models from household to commercial models. We have found that you don't have to spend a lot of money to find a unit that will help you keep you and your family healthier and at less of a risk from the nasty things that are in our foods and water. You can find a wide range of models for Ozone Water Machines by following the link. You can spend anywhere from ~$50-150 depending on what you want and your budget. 

A Little About Awaken The Dragon Inside

A while back I started a journey to try and live a healthier life along with my wife and daughter. I don't know if you have noticed, but when you start trying to research anything on the internet all your social media ads change. You will see thousands of ads and even classes for whatever you searched for last. Well, that led me down a rabbit hole of:

• water- fluoride, chloride, pesticides, microplastics, mercury, bacteria, and viruses.
• food- organic vs. non-organic. vegan, keto, paleo, GMO vs nonGMO.
• Supplements- organic vs synthetic. Which to take four a desired outcome.
• Networking with Holistic Practitioners, Ayurveda, Naturopathy, and Herbalists.
• Identifying public health policy issues at a local, national, and international level.

Having come from an industrial maintenance background and having some experience in desalination and brackish water systems to generate drinking water, I decided to tackle the water in our lives first.