Eating unwashed produce poses grave health risks that everyone should avoid. Vegetables and fruits can be contaminated in their various phases of production and this could lead to food poisoning. Washing your produce properly is one of the ways to take food safety precautions. Here are some things that could happen if you don’t wash your produce.

You may eat dirt and debris
Most times, produce get contaminated in the farm by dirt like sand particles and animal faeces. Additionally, it often gets touched by a lot hands right from when it is plucked on the farm to the retail stores, and you can’t be sure that those hands were clean when they touched it or that they weren’t sick. This not only exposes you to the risk of falling ill but can also make the produce have a horrible, gritty taste.

You may ingest chemicals
Although the use of pesticides and herbicides on farms is strictly monitored, there’s a good chance that some amount may be left on fruits and vegetables. Other times, some retail stores use insecticides which also increase the risk of chemicals on produce, especially if they’re from countries where regulations are far less stringent than in the USA. Eating your produce without washing puts you at risk of getting ill from harmful chemicals.

You may ingest harmful bacteria
There are several types of bacteria that can make you sick, and they can survive transportation and storage. Some examples are E. Coli, Shigella, Listeria and Salmonella, and they can cause symptoms like nausea, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, vomiting, fever, weakness, dehydration and in some cases, death.

You may eat some bugs
When food is grown outdoors, they tend to harbour tiny insects, slugs and worms which should be cleaned off. While your stomach acid can take care of these bugs, the produce is likely to taste different since you will be eating them together. 

Instead of giving the responsibilities to producers and retail stores, you can take some responsibility for your own health by washing your produce before eating. It will help remove everything that’s potentially harmful and maintain the real flavour.