To answer the question in the headline, the answer is yes. Mostly. 

Around 20% of commonly sold fruits and vegetables in the U.S. could contain unsafe levels of pesticides. It's natural to want to know how to get rid of that before ingesting. 

State officials at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station tested what happened to batches of produce under several different scenarios: leaving it unwashed, washing it with running water for a minute, washing it with a mix of water and soap, and washing it with four specially marketed produce wash products. They found that only the unrinsed produce showed noticeably higher levels of pesticide residue, meaning that running water alone was enough to remove pesticides.

Furthermore, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends against using anything besides water to wash fruits and vegetables. This isn’t just a pragmatic, money-saving tip: Many produce items are porous, so bleach, soap, or other disinfecting ingredients can get absorbed into them. At the very least, these ingredients could leave behind an utterly unpleasant taste, but they can also make you sick.

So wash up before eating or cooking fresh produce!

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