To avoid going to multiple stalls to choose all the vegetables you need, many housewives buy everything at the same address. In a food market where food hygiene is not perfectly controlled as in Vietnam, this can increase the risk of insecurity.
Why shouldn’t you buy vegetables at the same stall?
In fact, not buying all the vegetables at the same stall is a way to spread the risk when you cannot exclude the possibility that the stall is selling excess chemical residue, pesticides…
In reality, many stores and retailers import unsafe vegetables to minimize costs for profit, then introduce them as clean vegetables and sell them at high prices. Occasionally, there are establishments discovered to be fraudulent and reported by the media, so people know to boycott. The majority of people usually “buy with trust” rather than being sure that their familiar store always sells clean vegetables.
Why shouldn’t you buy vegetables at the same stall? That is a way to spread the risk. (Image: Getty Images)
Also, to optimize costs and profits, many vegetable sellers only import goods from a few suppliers. If that supplier does business dishonestly, their vegetable production process exceeds the allowable limits for chemicals, uses prohibited substances, or does not ensure the time for pesticide isolation, the risk of consuming your family’s toxic vegetables will be very high. Especially, if all the vegetables you buy come from this store, your family’s meals will be full of chemicals.
Therefore, if you buy vegetables at different addresses, this risk will be spread. Besides, usually each store will have some vegetables that are delicious and some types that are not as good as elsewhere. So, buying this type of vegetable at store A and the other at store B will help you choose the best food for your family. Of course, buying vegetables at different addresses will take more time.
Another way to increase safety is whether you buy vegetables at one or many addresses, you should research and observe carefully to find the most reliable store.
How to recognize vegetables that have been sprayed with chemicals
Below are some types of vegetables with a very high risk of being sprayed with chemicals and ways to recognize and distinguish them, according to the Document on Q&A on Nutrition and Food Safety of the Nutrition Institute.
Kale
When grown on the ground, kale attracts a lot of worms, so growers often increase irrigation of pesticides, fertilizers in the period before harvest. If sprayed near the harvest date, the residue of fertilizer and insecticide in the vegetables is still very high when reaching consumers’ hands because the chemicals do not have enough time to decompose.
You should be suspicious when encountering bundles of tender kale, bright green leaves, no trace of worms, strong and evenly shaped stems in an unusual way. These are usually vegetables that are fertilized with a lot of nitrate, should not be eaten, especially should not be eaten raw.
Bean sprouts
Thick and round bean sprouts, white stems with few roots are often very attractive and eye-catching. However, they may have been treated with toxic stimulants during production.
To make large and plump bean sprouts, when the seeds germinate, many people use leaf fertilizers mixed with diluted insecticides to water and then close them tightly. This mixture helps the bean sprouts germinate and develop quickly, but it is very toxic. This type of bean sprouts will release a murky liquid when cooked.
Chinese-stem mustard
If the growers abuse leaf fertilizers, the Chinese-stem mustard pods are often shiny, with few hairs, long, each joint distinguishable. If all the opened pods are for sale, indicating that the first garden has been sprayed with insecticides before harvesting.
Watercress
Signs of detecting vegetables sprayed with chemicals for this product include: unusually large stems, pale white eyes. Watercress bundles that are sprayed too much with pesticides and fertilizers will dry up, clump up if left for a day without soaking in water.
Bitter melon
When buying bitter melon, you should choose small, long fruits with many small veins. Big bitter melons with dark green color, smooth surface, and swollen stems are often abused with chemicals to keep them fresh.
Tips to reduce chemicals in vegetables
For leafy vegetables such as kale, kale, cabbage…, to eliminate harmful chemicals, after buying them, you can apply the following tips:
– Cut off the root part, separate each leaf, and remove any worm-infested leaves.
– Soak the vegetables in diluted saltwater or diluted purple medicine for about 15 minutes.
– Rinse each leaf thoroughly under running water several times, then continue with the processing.
According to the Document on Q&A on Nutrition and Food Safety of the Nutrition Institute, although the above method is simple, it can clean most of the pesticides, fertilizers clinging to vegetables, especially in the leaf gaps. This method also helps to remove eggs, tapeworms, and other dirt stuck to vegetables.
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