|
Post by nana on Feb 2, 2006 20:01:37 GMT -5
I've 'washed' fruits and veggies for decades, but after what I saw today, the washing has become much more thorough.
There was one apple that had been briefly washed under running water and dried sitting on the kitchen window ledge over night and when I got up today, the ledge surrounding the apple and also the floor below the window ledge had dozens of dead and dying relatively large ants! I'm leaving the apple there as an ant trap.
To thoroughly wash fruits and vegetables, the following solution is VERY effective and cost effective too.
Mix up a strong solution of water, baking soda and a drop or two of liquid dish detergent.
I used a large, empty dish detergent bottle (2 liter sized), filled with water and with a 1/4 cup of baking soda dissolved into it and two drops of dish detergent.
To clean one or two pieces of fruit/veggies, the cleaning solution can then be squirted onto the fruit which is then rubbed thoroughly and then rinsed under running water and then dried.
For larger quantities, mix the solution in a large bowl, immerse the fruit and allow to soak for a couple of minutes then scrub and rinse thoroughly and dry.
(some 'recipes' for solutions like this actually suggest using vinegar AND baking soda in the same solution but that really is not effective since vinegar is an acid and baking soda is alkaline -- so depending on the amount of each they either neutralize each other OR leave you with a weakened acid or alkaline solution)
Of course if you can find and/or afford organic produce this isn't really a problem but for the rest of us .. it's one way to not be ingesting something that's an effective ant killer!
|
|
|
Post by Moses on Feb 3, 2006 4:37:50 GMT -5
That's scarey!!
|
|
|
Post by nana on Feb 3, 2006 14:11:58 GMT -5
It gets scarier -- having used various ant bait/traps etc when we were in California (serious ant problem there) i'm familiar with how many of these things work .... many of them not only kill the ants that contact the stuff -- it is perceived as 'food' by the ants, so they carry it back to their nest to feed others and it kills them too ... that one apple seems to have done just that .... a few must have made it back 'home' because the steady 'stream' of very active, 'goal oriented' ants reduced to a very few, seemingly disoriented ants during the rest of the day .. and today .. not a single live ant to be found ... just a few dead ones lying around on counters, floor and window ledges ...
I've never seen a retail ant killer work as thoroughly and as quickly as that one beautiful looking apple.
Here's the kicker: on the bag the apples were packaged in is the following information:
"Coated with food grade vegetable and / or shellac based wax resin to maintain freshness"
sounds safe? or does it .. shellac !!!!!! And what else is kept on the surface by the coating?
|
|
|
Post by Moses on Feb 3, 2006 20:00:38 GMT -5
It's coated with a powerful poison!!!!!! Do you have the company name? I mean that's almost like a bioweapon! Do you have the company name? Maybe you could call them and write them and tell them what happened and ask them about which element is the poison!! It's like the wicked Queen and you are Snow White! Also, can you contact someone in the government and ask them about it and write them also?
|
|
|
Post by nana on Feb 4, 2006 2:34:25 GMT -5
Yikes sorry i never thought of saving the bag .and our trash has been picked up .. the apples in their bags were imported into Canada from some place in Washington state. Next time one or both of us goes to town to shop we'll find apples from the same supplier with the same coating and then speak to the store manager and the produce manager, and tell them what happened with the ants.
|
|
|
Post by Moses on Feb 4, 2006 9:28:11 GMT -5
Let us know!
|
|
|
Post by Moses on Feb 4, 2006 13:35:50 GMT -5
I remember Meryl Streep lobbied to have the coatings used on fruit and vegetables regulated. Was she successful?
|
|
|
Post by Moses on Feb 4, 2006 13:36:36 GMT -5
At least you finally found a really effective pesticide!!
|
|
|
Post by Moses on Feb 4, 2006 13:37:43 GMT -5
Maybe the US is trying to poison Canadians to make their health system look bad?
|
|
|
Post by karpomrx on Feb 4, 2006 19:09:52 GMT -5
I have been trying to eliminate as many of these toxins from my life as possible for a number of years. When one starts investigating, it becomes a terrible maze of teflon, aluminum, seasonings, GMO's, inks, numerous unlisted additives, and on and on. I am spending a fortune on organic local products and those I research. The plagues of this time are largely the result of corporate short cuts and a lack of concern by the "watchdog" agencies which are, for the most part, mere lackeys of big agro business. Poison is profitable.
|
|
|
Post by nana on May 24, 2006 17:59:57 GMT -5
Here we are three-plus months later and my emails to the two US companies selling this stuff to Canadian stores have gone unanswered.
Next step will be to take this information to the produce managers of the two stores where we purchased the apples - we're still buying them but washing in a mixture of warm water, baking soda and a good, environmentally friendly dish detergent (made by Seventh Generation) then rinsing, drying and storing in the fridge.
|
|