Not me.
Kind of like washing potatoes before paring, to me - totally not necessary.

Yes, I do. I just run some water over them and rub with my hands. Hopefully that removes any bacteria on the outside that will be spread inside with the knife.
Kittywhiskers

Yes, I do, even use soap.

Always, with soap. They are often the cause of stomach illness, or so they say! (The fruit sit in the dirt, and cantaloup especially has a rough rind that can trap dirt and germies.

How soon we forget!

I assume that most people wash produce before peeling! If not, any soil borne bacteria is swiftly cut into the fruit or vegetable. Canteloupes were the cause of severe illness and death across the country just two years ago; I believe that Listeria was the pathogen THAT time. Salmonella or E. coli are more typically the cause of food poisoning though there are other possibilities. We talked about the canteloupe incidences quite a bit in this forum.

Every piece of produce should be rinsed (at the very least) under running water. Those with a rough skin or peel should be brushed under running water before cutting into them.

Contamination can occur even in our home gardens, though it is not nearly as common as in the much handled, stored, shipped, stacked, etc. produce at the store. Organic practices do not exclude these pathogens, either.

So! Though that thick skin of a melon or canteloupe may protect the goodness inside, the second you cut into it all bets are off. I wash and dry melons and any other loose, fresh item before storing in the fridge, with the exception of potatoes and onions. I keep those in their dirty jackets, but stored separately in the bottom of my pantry until they are used.

This post was edited by rhizo_1 on Wed, Jul 10, 13 at 11:56

Yes!

I also give meat a quick rinse and pat dry before seasoning/ cooking.

I am in remission for bone marrow cancer. For months I could not eat fresh fruit, salads, or bananas , unless someone else washed and peeled it for me.
I know I was a "special case" but they had to totally killed my immune system.
There is not only bacteria, fungus and numerous other uglies! Now while they probably won't hurt 99% of healthy people, some like me do not know how long I was ill ,cause I felt great and thought they had mixed up thier test!
So, I will err on the side of safety with food .
No I have not turned into a raging germaphobe, I don't even wipe the shopping cart handles off, JUST FOR SPITE, but do use hand sanitizer in my
car!

Red

I absolutely definitely wash and scrub melons and rinse under running water.

So do I, and I always have.Seems like, when I was a young bride/mother and shipped off to foreign countries with DH, that was the first directive given to us. Wash all fruts and vegges (sometimes with bleach!). Once learned, it becomes a habit. All produce is in the sink, before the frige. Even from the garden, except for the berrries....yum, right off the shrub.

Potatoes and onions not and stored elsewhere.

Yes, totally necessary.

Lois, still feel "a little odd"? ;-)

Absolutely!
Once exposed to the idea of washing them, I find it "odd" that some continue to reject the sensibleness of the practice. And I am certainly no germaphobe.

Yes, with running water as with all fruits and veggies.

I never put food in the sink. All good germaphobes know that there's more bacteria and nasty things in a kitchen sink than anywhere else in the house. Even after a good washing with soap and even bleach, there's lots left in the drain stem.

When I want to dunk stuff, I use a bowl or the basin of a salad spinner.

Yes, soap, hot water, scrubber, then rinse and dry.

Yes...for sure! Wasn't it just last year that some canteloupes were recalled because of contamination on their outer skn? Why would you NOT?

I sure do wash them thoroughly before cutting into them. I figure that they have been handled by many people in the fields and packing sheds before they even get to the grocery store where they are picked over by customers. What are the chances that everyone who handles the produce has clean hands?

Wow, am glad I posted this. I remember last summer at a Farmers Market the vendor was taking cantaloupe out of her basket and cutting it for samples.Of course I did not take any but I could not believe how many customers were eating a slice. At the time I thought I was kind of odd and now I realize many KT folks think like me. Lois

I never purchase the convenient packages of cut up melons or pineapple, either. If we decide to bring home a watermelon (which the two of us couldn't eat), it's thoroughly washed, THEN cut up and the extra given to neighbors or taken to work.

Yes. I keep a spray bottle of vinegar water under the sink. One of its uses is for fresh fruit. So I rinse with water and a mesh scrubbie then spray. Just a quick simple thing to do.

Years ago a friend convinced me never to buy a cut section of watermelon. SInce then, I'll only buy whole melons, then wash them with soap and water before cutting them.

I've always washed melons prior to cutting. Often times I see the produce people cutting into and offering samples of melons...no thanks!! Not sure when that knife was last washed. I also never buy half-cut melons for that reason.

ok...we wash melons, but not corn?

Well corn is either peeled (shucked) and boiled or it is soaked in water before grilling. Either way it is COOKED, not raw like fruit. It's generally not cut either.

Juellie, the comment from jean is probably in reference to another earlier thread about a method of microwaving sweet corn in the husks. My problem with that technique is that you'd be steaming the corn in husks with a high pesticide residue. Others are thinking about dirt and bugs. The folks in favor of the microwave method like the convenience factor!

I am getting opinions on something else I was thinking about. I will not buy the cut up fruit either as my thought is the same.......what else did they cut with the knife and what type of cutting board do they use. The packaged fruit looks so pretty and tempting when I am in a hurry but I just walk by and pick up a whole melon.

Yes, I sure do... and I wash oranges too, before I cut in to the skin to make it easy to peel.

Moni

Yes, I do. I wash lots of fruits and vegetables before cutting; watermelons especially can be quite dirty.

Yes, I wash all melons with warm water, soap and a scrubber, even the ones from my garden. I also wash all fruits and vegetables, except bananas. I know I probably should, but somehow, I pop that banana into my mouth before I remember that I didn't wash it.

Potatoes: I rinse these to remove dirt and sand. A complete sanitation is not required if these are to be thoroughly cooked at high temperatures. A potato that is eaten raw should be thoroughly cleaned. When I was a child, barn manure was spread on the garden at the start of the season. Potaotes and root vegtables grown therein came in contact with manure. You bet, we washed these before consuming.

In my opinion, mellons should be washed before cutting because these are eaten raw. I know, when I was a kid down on the farm, most folks gave it no thought about it. Stray dirt was brushed off the mellon and then sliced without any further cleaning. We probably got by with this practice since the exterior of our own mellons, if comtaminated, was contaminated with local dirt and such, and we probably had natural resistance to some of the local 'dirt'. But we may not have resistance to contaminants on food stuffs transported from distant locations.

No, I don't wash melons (cantelope, watermelon, honeydew, etc.) Never thought about it. I will now (think about it, that is). Might do it.

No,I don't but I guess I will now after reading the replies of all of you who
do. I am so glad I read this post I just never saw it done. I grew up
watching my parents just slice watermelon and cantelope.