As more and more studies are performed on the food that we eat in America, many questions are being raised about the health effects of chemicals and farming practices that are used to grow our fruits and vegetables. As a reaction to this, people are buying more organic produce now than they ever have before. If you’re someone who buys organic produce to avoid harmful contaminants in your food, you should be aware that washing your fruits and vegetables in unfiltered tap water can introduce some of those same contaminants back into your food. Today we’re going to explain how this happens by talking about the connection between organic produce and unfiltered tap water!
Why do people choose to buy organic produce?
Before we talk about the connection between organic produce and tap water, we should first talk about why some people choose to buy organic food in the first place. According to the USDA, organic farms must only use approved farming materials and do not use any genetically modified ingredients. The people who buy organic produce see this a safer alternative to regular farming practices for two primary reasons:
It reduces your exposure to the potentially dangerous chemicals found in synthetic pesticides and fertilizers.
It avoids the possible health risks of eating genetically modified foods, some of which include an impaired immune system, less access to nutrients in foods, resistance to antibiotics and allergic reactions to certain foods.
What is the relationship between organic produce and tap water?
As it turns out, many of the contaminants that people intentionally try to avoid by purchasing organic produce can be found in unfiltered tap water. So the same people who are concerned about the possible health effects of the food that they eat should also be concerned about the effects of the water that they drink and use at home.
Most people wash their produce before they eat it. If you buy organic produce and wash it in unfiltered tap water, many of the contaminants that you were trying to avoid by buying organic fruits and vegetables in the first place can be transferred from the unfiltered water to the food.
Some of the contaminants that are found in unfiltered tap water that can affect the health of your organic produce include:
- Traces of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides.
- Various other chemicals such as those from pharmaceutical drugs.
- Cryptosporidium, PFC’s and THM’s, all of which can cause the same health effects that organic produce is designed to avoid.
Install a water filtration system to ensure your organic produce remains organic
If you want to get the most out of your organic produce, you should filter your water at home with a residential filtration system. EPA Water offers a number of different systems that will remove whatever types of contaminants your particular tap water contains. Contact us to have your water tested for free so we can recommend a system that will keep both your water and your produce healthy, safe and chemical-free.
If you have any questions about the effects tap water has on organic produce, or if you’d like a water system serviced or installed in your home, contact EPA Water Consultants, your water softener and water filtration system dealer in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. We provide service all over Eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey, including towns like Macungie, Malvern and Quakertown, PA.
photo credit: 77967821@N00 via photopin (license)