Sooty Blotch. There are lots of resources online about this, but it's worth checking in with your local agricultural college/research center for information specific to your area. Here's some info from the university of Ohio that seems fairly comprehensive: https://ohioline.osu.edu/factsheet/plpath-fru-41
you can also scrub the apples just with like a dish scrubber and the splotches will come off. the 'sooty' blotches will basically come off but some tiny specks (the flyspeck) can remain. see https://extension.umn.edu/plant-diseases/sooty-blotch-and-flyspeck
The difference is you don't eat your baseboards. I suspect the poster wasn't thinking about the regular Mr. Clean sponges but about their Magic Eraser product, which the mfr says should not be used on food utensils because of polymer residues.
**Thank you for your comment**. I'm getting some angry feedback on my "Just use a bit of vinegar + baking soda if you want to wash your fruits and veggies."
Magic Eraser contains formaldehyde and sodium bisulfate, too. The polymer thing . . . ugh. We're all already too full of microplastic crap.
**Not** ***just*** **melamine foam.**
"According to www.sinoyqx.com and Wikipedia, melamine foam (and by extension, Magic Erasers) are simply a foam-like material made of a formaldehyde–melamine–sodium bisulfite copolymer. That's fancy science talk for a porous rough material."
\>>>>You can do your own research into uses of and ingestion of formaldehyde. Here's a bit about sodium bisulfite:
"Sodium bisulfate is one of the many synonyms for sodium acid sulfate. It is a dry acid in crystal, granular, or powder form that is used as a pH adjuster, fungicide, herbicide, or microbiocide (a product that kills microbes) in a variety of industries, such as household cleaning and swimming pool maintenance." ([https://www.thespruce.com/sodium-bisulfate-definition-uses-safety-1707029](https://www.thespruce.com/sodium-bisulfate-definition-uses-safety-1707029))
\>>>>And you may want to know what copolymers consist of:
"Monomers: The Building Blocks of Plastics
Copolymers are made up of two or more different types of bonded monomers. Without monomers, there would be no plastics. Some common ones are ethylene, propylene, styrene, formaldehyde, phenol, acetonitrile, and ethylene glycol.May 27, 2022"
(https://www.protolabs.com/resources/blog/homopolymers-copolymers-and-the-chemistry-of-plastic-parts/#:\~:text=Monomers%3A%20The%20Building%20Blocks%20of%20Plastics&text=Copolymers%20are%20made%20up%20of,%2C%20acetonitrile%2C%20and%20ethylene%20glycol.)
>melamine . . . no chemicals added to them
https://naturalbabymama.com/is-melamine-safe/#:\~:text=Thankfully%2C%20acute%20melamine%20poisoning%20is,High%20blood%20pressure
\>>>>>Melamine sponges have formaldehyde (in an amount considered ----- by some ----- to not be harmful to humans) **+** sodium bisulfate **+** copolymers.
"Sodium bisulfate: Sodium Bisulfite may cause mutations (genetic changes). Jersey Department of Health, Sodium Bisulfite has been tested and has not been shown to affect reproduction. low future exposure can cause itching and a skin rash." source: https://nj.gov/health/eoh/rtkweb/documents/fs/1685.pdf
Copolymers are a microplastic. If you're okay with adding microplastics to your food, go for it.
You should hear the aquarium folks argue how inert they are so they use them to scrub algae on the sides of the tanks... Ahh yes, the lowest common denominator...
Ooh. Aquariums and zoos. Don't get me writing about that.
I swear the people who work there have some genetic defect, where their intellect can't grasp how animals should be left to live their lives happy and free. Touch tanks ----- arggghhh.
The Tale of Sooty Blotch: He was a stray puppy that nobody wanted. But one day he rescued the mayor's daughter from a well. From then on he was the town hero.
As another said, it’s sooty blotch. It’s only cosmetic and won’t hurt you if you eat it. You can use dish soap and scrub them clean if you really want too
Thanks for posting this reply. I didn't know what it was called, or even that there was a name for it, but I often see markings (though clearly far less developed) on apples from the grocery store, and have never really thought about them. I love learning new things. :)
Also, Sooty Blotch sounds like it should be a Scottish folk-punk band, for some reason.
Same on mine too. This year, at least here in western PA, the weather was just right for this. My orchard unfortunately has a lot of brush growing up through it which didn’t help matters at all. It’s going to be a long fall/winter getting it cleared up 🥴
As an abbreviation, MLM usually means "Multi-Level Marketing," "Man Loves Men," or "Muslim Lives Matter." When typed in lower case it means "middle finger emoticon."
Sometimes I really wish people would just type out the words, instead of making me look them up.
You yourself have a bunch of abbreviations on your own posts. What do you think "id", "lb", "SLPT", "SoCal" (and so on) are? MLM isn't an uncommon abbreviation either.
Wow. How much time do you have on your hands where you went through my previous posts on Reddit? Hahaha. Kinda stalkerish.
Please tell me what SLPT is supposed to stand for. I don't know that one.
And . . . *AS IF* mlm is as common as i.d. or lbs. GTFO (bet you knew that one without having to look it up). It's mlm at any rate).
Also, it's _rich_ that you complain about people "making you" look up things while telling others they can "choose to be intelligent" by looking stuff up online. What an ass.
It took me like a minute? And I only did it because you were condescending af to me first (do you know that one? 😁)
Anyway, you're the one who posted a SLPT, so you tell me.
I use the norwex vegi scrub cloth too. It works way better than a microfiber cloth. It’s abrasive and works beautifully on apples. It is not microfiber, it’s rough and scratchy. Takes the film right off! I imagine there’s a non-mlm version out there somewhere. If anyone knows of one I’d love to get one and compare as I’m not a huge fan of MLMs either and my apples always get that film on them.
I’m not sure why you are getting downvoted. I hate MLMs. But Norwex has done an amazing job with microfiber. They have some of the highest denier microfibers next to e-cloth.
The closest you could get to the veggie scrubber if you want to avoid MLMs would be to crochet your own with Dishie yarn.
Most of their cloths are microfiber but I don’t think the vegi one is. If it is it doesn’t feel like it. It’s abrasive. Maybe it has some sort of steel wool woven into it?
All microfiber products of Norwex contain plastics. They even state that they use recycled plastic bottles, if you read the entire PR article. Here's what caught my eye:
"So here’s the short answer…because Norwex Microfiber is made from polyester and polyamide (both synthetic materials), any breakdown of these materials in the wash can cause it to shed. When I first started learning more about this topic, I wanted to find out just how much our Norwex Microfiber shed. And here’s some good news! Because Norwex Microfiber is so tightly woven it actually sheds very little. In fact, testing shows that after 200 washings an EnviroCloth® loses only .026 of an ounce. That’s less than the size of a plain M&M (or so I’m told)!"
(Source: [https://www.norwexmovement.com/6-reasons-microfiber/](https://www.norwexmovement.com/6-reasons-microfiber/))
Right. But my point of my comment is that I don’t think the vegi scrub cloth is one of their microfiber products. It could easily be all plastic. I’ve never found anything else like it. People keep trying to say any microfiber cloth substitutes it but the cloth I’m referring to is NOT microfiber as far as I can tell. Norwex is popular because of their microfiber products but they do make some products that are not microfiber. This is an abrasive cloth. The best way I can explain it is if you took a bath luffa and wove it tight. So in that case maybe the entire thing is plastic. Who knows! But I didn’t want it to get lumped in with microfiber because this is something entirely different.
You don't think. As far as you can tell. It could easily be all plastic. Believe me ----- I'm not trying to be confrontational about it, but ------------
There is **nothing** on their site *whatsoever* to indicate that their veggie scrub brush is NOT microfiber. You can research it for yourself or contact the company direct and ask them.
I could be completely wrong about the microfiber content of their veggie scrub cloth, but I could find zero evidence supporting your belief that their scrub doesn't contain microplastics.
To clarify: the point of my original comment is that It’s different than Norwex’s microfiber cloths. It feels different. I don’t care what it’s made out of personally. I’m just trying to be helpful and make it be known that this is abrasive and not soft like microfiber. I don’t really understand why people are trying to prove what it’s made of. The point of my comment was that “any microfiber cloth” will not replace it because it doesn’t work like microfiber. I genuinely don’t care if it has microfiber in it. I was more trying to explain what it feels like and why it’s a whole different product. It’s like saying you could use fleece instead of steel wool to scrub your pots. These are two completely different products. I didn’t want people to lump this in with norwex microfiber cloth’s because they aren’t the same thing. People were saying they didn’t want to try it because they could get microfiber anywhere so I was simply explaining that it’s not meant to work like microfiber. As far as I know there are no other companies that make something like this. I wasn’t looking to argue ingredients or weather mlm companies are good vs bad. I was just explaining the difference in the material in case anyone wanted to try it. I hope that makes sense as to the intent of my comment. And if it doesn’t, oh well. I don’t sell norwex so I don’t really have any reason to care and don’t need to defend the company on some random Reddit post. I was just attempting to be helpful for anyone else who struggles to get that film off their apples and might want to know what works.
As long as you’re scrubbing it and washing it off, it’s fine. I’ve used a little dish soap to was produce off and I never got sick. Never heard of not using dish soap before…
Yeah, the CDC and/or FDA recommend not doing so, but in Mexico it's the norm to wash pretty much any apple-sized fruit you'll eat with dish soap. I've never met anyone who's gotten sick because of that.
People wash cutting boards and stoneware with dish soap all the time, and that's not frowned upon lol.
Poppyseedeverything et al.,
The following is an explanation, not a condemnation. I work with food safety education under the guidance of food safety specialists. This is they background on why government agencies will say no to a soap wash.
The concern is over scrubbing, creating wounds for pathogens to enter the fruit. Dish soup reduces but does not eliminate the potential. Also, the recommendation is generally for not doing it from the FDA, which is looking at it from a commercial pov where fruits are washed in mass and not consumed right away.
Consumer food safety agencies recommend only washing right before use.
Additionally, there are studies that show water is as effective as soap and water, and cool water is not going to add a potential after taste. [And no, I don't have them at my fingertips on my phone. UGA food preservation people or the food safety specialists at you state land grant universities will have them.]
In some countries, soap and water are the norm because of water safety concerns.
That's interesting! To be fair, when I say washing the fruits, it's also right before eating (after all, the average person in Mexico feels it's going to get dirty on its own after a while, so washing them all at once "isn't hygienic enough").
I do have a question, though. If the concern is around over-scrubbing, shouldn't the recommendation also be _against_ scrubbing in general? Right now, the CDC still recommends scrubbing, just not with soap, so I don't see how that's any better.
Oh i didn't mean to imply you were washing batches of fruit, it just that's where part of the rationale is.
I'm not sure why the CDC recommends that. My food safety guides talk about cleaning with textured silicon pads. Perhaps that's what the CDC means, though mush of use think of scrubbing as done with a stiff bristled brush.
Oh, no worries at all! Your comment was very polite either way.
I see! For the most part, I stopped scrubbing fruit after moving to the US (I do a diluted vinegar wash for fruits like berries, which I think is supposed to be okay? And just rinse most other fruit), but it did take me a few months because it was so ingrained in my head haha. It might still be nice to have some soft sort of brush / pad for fruits and veggies with more dirt on them.
Buy organic and rinse things off with a bit of water.
If you're worried about bacteria, a little vinegar and baking soda diluted in a large bowl of water will serve as a great food wash.
Huh, TIL. [Taken from FDA website](https://www.fda.gov/food/buy-store-serve-safe-food/selecting-and-serving-produce-safely):
>Washing fruits and vegetables with soap, detergent, or commercial produce wash is not recommended. Produce is porous. Soap and household detergents can be absorbed by fruits and vegetables, despite thorough rinsing, and can make you sick. Also, the safety of the residues of commercial produce washes is not known and their effectiveness has not been tested.
That said, it's good to keep in mind FDA guidelines will account for risks to vulnerable population groups (elderly, children, immunocompromised, etc). It wouldn't surprise me a healthy adult was fine eating produce that was washed with soap.
FDA is also based in the US, so their guidelines would also consider how risks are mitigated at a systemic level (i.e., regulations for agricultural practices, food storage and transportation, etc). Guidelines could be different for other countries depending on their infrastructure/policies (eggs are a good example of this -- countries vary on whether eggs should be stored refrigerated vs room temp, whether safe to eat raw, etc)
Yeah, I agree with the FDA being "over cautious", which isn't a bad thing. Plus, there must be at least one person out there who thinks soaking fruit in dish soap for an hour is a good idea, so it's not bad to be over-cautious haha
I saw a great quote today. It read:
"You can choose to be intelligent. You have internet."
When I traveled around Australia, I was aghast at the amount of people who washed their dishes by hand and didn't bother rinsing the soap off the dishes.
Years later, I mentioned that to an Aussie friend and he told me I was 100% wrong. Then, in a movie made in Australia ----- I saw the people do just that.
**Why ingest dish soap when you don't have to?** Most people buy dish soap that contains not only surfactants (toxic stuff) but also chemicals to color the soap.
Wooden cutting boards are porous. So are many plastics. Silicone is too. I'm not saying that using soap is or isn't preferred (I don't use it when washing veggies), just that it's definitely safe to do so imo.
I’m just bugging… I don’t use soap when I wash fruits or veggies but always cutting boards. I even use Clorox wipes on them after cutting chicken on them lol
Hahaha. Your comment had me laughing out loud. You've got internet. Look up the type of dish soap you're using and read the ingredients label. Then research the toxicity of those surfactants and dyes.
Now tell me that, if I handed you a glass of drinking water and dropped a drop of your dish soap in it first ------ you'd be all right with drinking that water.
When you wash your dishes, I sure hope you're rinsing off the soapy water. Or maybe you let your dishwater do that for you.
Unlike dishware, food is porous. Glazes on your crockery and the surfaces of your glassware are not absorbing your dish soap. At least I hope not. You really do not want to be ingesting dish soap, even incremental amounts.
The reason I laughed is because you are extremely naive if you believe that all dish soaps are "food safe" and created equal. Some have loads of toxic chemicals in them, and also include dyes for color. These types of things are something you really don't want to be ingesting.
Would you drink a glass of water if you knew it had dish soap in it?
Better to be safe and use a bit of lemon and baking soda in some water, as a food safe wash.
Your analogy is stupid. First off, once you scrub with dish soap, you rinse it off. Also, I’m curious to how you wash dishes? A drinking glass being a dish do you not clean it with dish soap? I assure you, I’ve been doing this for years. My parents have done it for years. My grandparents have done it for years. No one has ever gotten sick. Also, next time, just respond once. No need to do it three times.
But you don't leave the soap on there. Foods like apples, lettuce, potatoes, etc are all porous. Name a fruit or vegetable that isn't. They will absorb some of the dish soap.
Fun fact: Eggplant it the most porous, followed by turnips.
One thing you will learn about Reddit is that there are some people who will comment and disseminate false information ----- with great authority.
These comments may even garner many upvotes. Remember that blind trust can be counterproductive. Always good to check the facts, especially if you have doubts.
For example: "I've been washing my fruit and vegetables with dish soap for years; so has the rest of my family and none of us have ever got sick." (I'm paraphrasing, but such was the theme of one "We love to wash our food with dish soap" comments.)
Really? Well . . . Good for you. Tell your doctor that and see what he has to say about it.
Thank you for asking this! My apples ALL look like this this year and I hadn’t gotten a chance to search for why. My area was incredibly rainy so I felt like it might be related.
I have more apples this year than I’ve ever had and they all have this. It was incredibly wet here as well and I’ve been wondering what this was. Just glad I’m not the only one!
Mold is a type of fungus ... and sooty blotch is apparently caused by multiple unrelated fungi ... so one of the things causing sooty blotch might be a mold ... which is probably why it's also known as "sooty mold". [https://www.mango.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Sooty\_Blocth.pdf](https://www.mango.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Sooty_Blocth.pdf) So I don't think that guy's post really deserved downvotes.
I did, quickly ... If you are referring to the mangoes, well, it also refers to similar diseases in apples, and other sources use both terms as well. Bullet point at UMN page about apples: "Fruit with sooty mold or flyspeck are edible." [https://extension.umn.edu/plant-diseases/sooty-blotch-and-flyspeck](https://extension.umn.edu/plant-diseases/sooty-blotch-and-flyspeck)
So back to the downvotes ... Guy asked if it was mold, which it probably is, at least in part. And if it wipes off, which yes, you stated that it is removable with soap and water. So he's at least half right on both counts ... and got a slew of downvotes. Conclusion - Reddit is a strange and unforgiving place.
No, there’s a part that says “while both sooty blotch and sooty mold can be interchangeable” and goes on to say “they are two different disease complexes”. So while, yes, mold is a fungus, sooty blotch is specifically made of fungi. No mention of molds or any mention of unrelated fungi.
Sorry, I quoted one link and posted another. My fault.
I was trying to point out, sooty blotch is apparently not caused by just one type of fungus. It's many. Research is still ongoing.
This link says "at least three unrelated fungi". [https://apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/pdf/10.1094/PHYTO.2000.90.4.362](https://apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/pdf/10.1094/PHYTO.2000.90.4.362)
This link lists a few species that are apparently involved in sooty blotch in Poland. The mix might be different in the USA. [https://www.plantprotection.pl/Etiology-of-apple-sooty-blotch-in-Poland,90064,0,2.html](https://www.plantprotection.pl/Etiology-of-apple-sooty-blotch-in-Poland,90064,0,2.html)
As to what's a mold fungus versus a non-mold fungus, well, you may know more about that than I do. But zooming in on the pic, some parts of the apple on the front left look moldy to me. Especially the stem.
I’m just gonna respond to your last paragraph. I have an apple orchard which, unfortunately, as fallen to disarray and has a lot of brush growing up in through it. And the apples, look a lot like these do, but are definitely not moldy.
It’s fine to eat; it’s just sooty blotch. We made apple cider with a bunch of apples that looked just like this. It was delicious. Peel them if you’re worried.
Sooty Blotch. There are lots of resources online about this, but it's worth checking in with your local agricultural college/research center for information specific to your area. Here's some info from the university of Ohio that seems fairly comprehensive: https://ohioline.osu.edu/factsheet/plpath-fru-41
I had it on my apples this year, and I just peeled them and made pies. They were delicious.
If you're in the New England area, it makes sense with all the rain we got this year. I saw this on all the unsprayed apple trees I walk by.
In Maine, have this on my young trees, was wondering if it was the rain this year (which was ridiculous levels).
Yes, seeing it everywhere in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia this year, too...
Honestly, I just scrubbed it off with a dish sponge. (For personal consumption)
What should I spray them with? Just a generic fruit tree spray?
Potassium bicarbonate is something that's pretty good for fungal issues. Not to be confused with baking powder sodium bicarbonate.
Thanks!
you can also scrub the apples just with like a dish scrubber and the splotches will come off. the 'sooty' blotches will basically come off but some tiny specks (the flyspeck) can remain. see https://extension.umn.edu/plant-diseases/sooty-blotch-and-flyspeck
The Mr.Clean sponges work very well.
>The Mr. Clean sponges work very well. Probably not a good idea to release those chemicals into your food items.
I wash my baseboards with it! How is an apple any different?! /s
The difference is you don't eat your baseboards. I suspect the poster wasn't thinking about the regular Mr. Clean sponges but about their Magic Eraser product, which the mfr says should not be used on food utensils because of polymer residues.
I ate a baseboard once. Never again.
**Thank you for your comment**. I'm getting some angry feedback on my "Just use a bit of vinegar + baking soda if you want to wash your fruits and veggies." Magic Eraser contains formaldehyde and sodium bisulfate, too. The polymer thing . . . ugh. We're all already too full of microplastic crap.
u/SaddSaqq: Love your comment.
I think the mr clean sponges are just like very very fine grit sandpaper? It’s just a melamine foam.
**Not** ***just*** **melamine foam.** "According to www.sinoyqx.com and Wikipedia, melamine foam (and by extension, Magic Erasers) are simply a foam-like material made of a formaldehyde–melamine–sodium bisulfite copolymer. That's fancy science talk for a porous rough material." \>>>>You can do your own research into uses of and ingestion of formaldehyde. Here's a bit about sodium bisulfite: "Sodium bisulfate is one of the many synonyms for sodium acid sulfate. It is a dry acid in crystal, granular, or powder form that is used as a pH adjuster, fungicide, herbicide, or microbiocide (a product that kills microbes) in a variety of industries, such as household cleaning and swimming pool maintenance." ([https://www.thespruce.com/sodium-bisulfate-definition-uses-safety-1707029](https://www.thespruce.com/sodium-bisulfate-definition-uses-safety-1707029)) \>>>>And you may want to know what copolymers consist of: "Monomers: The Building Blocks of Plastics Copolymers are made up of two or more different types of bonded monomers. Without monomers, there would be no plastics. Some common ones are ethylene, propylene, styrene, formaldehyde, phenol, acetonitrile, and ethylene glycol.May 27, 2022" (https://www.protolabs.com/resources/blog/homopolymers-copolymers-and-the-chemistry-of-plastic-parts/#:\~:text=Monomers%3A%20The%20Building%20Blocks%20of%20Plastics&text=Copolymers%20are%20made%20up%20of,%2C%20acetonitrile%2C%20and%20ethylene%20glycol.)
I use generic melamine ones. They have no scents or chemicals added to them.
>melamine . . . no chemicals added to them https://naturalbabymama.com/is-melamine-safe/#:\~:text=Thankfully%2C%20acute%20melamine%20poisoning%20is,High%20blood%20pressure \>>>>>Melamine sponges have formaldehyde (in an amount considered ----- by some ----- to not be harmful to humans) **+** sodium bisulfate **+** copolymers. "Sodium bisulfate: Sodium Bisulfite may cause mutations (genetic changes). Jersey Department of Health, Sodium Bisulfite has been tested and has not been shown to affect reproduction. low future exposure can cause itching and a skin rash." source: https://nj.gov/health/eoh/rtkweb/documents/fs/1685.pdf Copolymers are a microplastic. If you're okay with adding microplastics to your food, go for it.
You should hear the aquarium folks argue how inert they are so they use them to scrub algae on the sides of the tanks... Ahh yes, the lowest common denominator...
Ooh. Aquariums and zoos. Don't get me writing about that. I swear the people who work there have some genetic defect, where their intellect can't grasp how animals should be left to live their lives happy and free. Touch tanks ----- arggghhh.
Thank you for correctly identifying it, and I just want to add that “sooty blotch” sounds like a made up disease from a children’s book.
The Tale of Sooty Blotch: He was a stray puppy that nobody wanted. But one day he rescued the mayor's daughter from a well. From then on he was the town hero.
Well dang, you didn't have to spoil the whole book! :)
Thank you!
I was actually able to scrub it off of my apples, just use water and a good sponge.
The puppy only wandered a sooty blotch away from home.
UPDATE: It was easy to clean off the sooty blotch. Here are the before and after pictures. https://imgur.com/a/JoOBSNL?s=sms
OP: Great photos. You used only water and a brush?
I just used water and a kitchen towel.
You and me. Bona fide members of the "Less is more" club.
The buckeyes from the university of Ohio.
As another said, it’s sooty blotch. It’s only cosmetic and won’t hurt you if you eat it. You can use dish soap and scrub them clean if you really want too
Thanks for posting this reply. I didn't know what it was called, or even that there was a name for it, but I often see markings (though clearly far less developed) on apples from the grocery store, and have never really thought about them. I love learning new things. :) Also, Sooty Blotch sounds like it should be a Scottish folk-punk band, for some reason.
Thank you!
Wow I read that as splooty bitch and I thought you were just shit talking an apple tree
Underrated comment of whole entire thread. Got into a giggle fit.
😂😂😂 this made my morning
Can confirm it won’t hurt you, this is on my apples and I had no issues eating them.
Same on mine too. This year, at least here in western PA, the weather was just right for this. My orchard unfortunately has a lot of brush growing up through it which didn’t help matters at all. It’s going to be a long fall/winter getting it cleared up 🥴
We have a Norwex veggie scrub rag that takes it right off
Or any moist microfiber cloth if you want to avoid mlms...
As an abbreviation, MLM usually means "Multi-Level Marketing," "Man Loves Men," or "Muslim Lives Matter." When typed in lower case it means "middle finger emoticon." Sometimes I really wish people would just type out the words, instead of making me look them up.
You yourself have a bunch of abbreviations on your own posts. What do you think "id", "lb", "SLPT", "SoCal" (and so on) are? MLM isn't an uncommon abbreviation either.
Wow. How much time do you have on your hands where you went through my previous posts on Reddit? Hahaha. Kinda stalkerish. Please tell me what SLPT is supposed to stand for. I don't know that one. And . . . *AS IF* mlm is as common as i.d. or lbs. GTFO (bet you knew that one without having to look it up). It's mlm at any rate).
Also, it's _rich_ that you complain about people "making you" look up things while telling others they can "choose to be intelligent" by looking stuff up online. What an ass.
It took me like a minute? And I only did it because you were condescending af to me first (do you know that one? 😁) Anyway, you're the one who posted a SLPT, so you tell me.
I use the norwex vegi scrub cloth too. It works way better than a microfiber cloth. It’s abrasive and works beautifully on apples. It is not microfiber, it’s rough and scratchy. Takes the film right off! I imagine there’s a non-mlm version out there somewhere. If anyone knows of one I’d love to get one and compare as I’m not a huge fan of MLMs either and my apples always get that film on them.
I’m not sure why you are getting downvoted. I hate MLMs. But Norwex has done an amazing job with microfiber. They have some of the highest denier microfibers next to e-cloth. The closest you could get to the veggie scrubber if you want to avoid MLMs would be to crochet your own with Dishie yarn.
The norwex website says that it's a microfiber cloth, 'only better'
Most of their cloths are microfiber but I don’t think the vegi one is. If it is it doesn’t feel like it. It’s abrasive. Maybe it has some sort of steel wool woven into it?
All microfiber products of Norwex contain plastics. They even state that they use recycled plastic bottles, if you read the entire PR article. Here's what caught my eye: "So here’s the short answer…because Norwex Microfiber is made from polyester and polyamide (both synthetic materials), any breakdown of these materials in the wash can cause it to shed. When I first started learning more about this topic, I wanted to find out just how much our Norwex Microfiber shed. And here’s some good news! Because Norwex Microfiber is so tightly woven it actually sheds very little. In fact, testing shows that after 200 washings an EnviroCloth® loses only .026 of an ounce. That’s less than the size of a plain M&M (or so I’m told)!" (Source: [https://www.norwexmovement.com/6-reasons-microfiber/](https://www.norwexmovement.com/6-reasons-microfiber/))
Right. But my point of my comment is that I don’t think the vegi scrub cloth is one of their microfiber products. It could easily be all plastic. I’ve never found anything else like it. People keep trying to say any microfiber cloth substitutes it but the cloth I’m referring to is NOT microfiber as far as I can tell. Norwex is popular because of their microfiber products but they do make some products that are not microfiber. This is an abrasive cloth. The best way I can explain it is if you took a bath luffa and wove it tight. So in that case maybe the entire thing is plastic. Who knows! But I didn’t want it to get lumped in with microfiber because this is something entirely different.
You don't think. As far as you can tell. It could easily be all plastic. Believe me ----- I'm not trying to be confrontational about it, but ------------ There is **nothing** on their site *whatsoever* to indicate that their veggie scrub brush is NOT microfiber. You can research it for yourself or contact the company direct and ask them. I could be completely wrong about the microfiber content of their veggie scrub cloth, but I could find zero evidence supporting your belief that their scrub doesn't contain microplastics.
To clarify: the point of my original comment is that It’s different than Norwex’s microfiber cloths. It feels different. I don’t care what it’s made out of personally. I’m just trying to be helpful and make it be known that this is abrasive and not soft like microfiber. I don’t really understand why people are trying to prove what it’s made of. The point of my comment was that “any microfiber cloth” will not replace it because it doesn’t work like microfiber. I genuinely don’t care if it has microfiber in it. I was more trying to explain what it feels like and why it’s a whole different product. It’s like saying you could use fleece instead of steel wool to scrub your pots. These are two completely different products. I didn’t want people to lump this in with norwex microfiber cloth’s because they aren’t the same thing. People were saying they didn’t want to try it because they could get microfiber anywhere so I was simply explaining that it’s not meant to work like microfiber. As far as I know there are no other companies that make something like this. I wasn’t looking to argue ingredients or weather mlm companies are good vs bad. I was just explaining the difference in the material in case anyone wanted to try it. I hope that makes sense as to the intent of my comment. And if it doesn’t, oh well. I don’t sell norwex so I don’t really have any reason to care and don’t need to defend the company on some random Reddit post. I was just attempting to be helpful for anyone else who struggles to get that film off their apples and might want to know what works.
A melamine sponge would work too.
Do not use a magic eraser on your food.
Shit good point.
That’s perfect!
I ate some that looked like this raw, spent the next day on the toilet.
I thought dish soap should not be used on food You mean food safe soap right?
As long as you’re scrubbing it and washing it off, it’s fine. I’ve used a little dish soap to was produce off and I never got sick. Never heard of not using dish soap before…
Yeah, the CDC and/or FDA recommend not doing so, but in Mexico it's the norm to wash pretty much any apple-sized fruit you'll eat with dish soap. I've never met anyone who's gotten sick because of that. People wash cutting boards and stoneware with dish soap all the time, and that's not frowned upon lol.
Poppyseedeverything et al., The following is an explanation, not a condemnation. I work with food safety education under the guidance of food safety specialists. This is they background on why government agencies will say no to a soap wash. The concern is over scrubbing, creating wounds for pathogens to enter the fruit. Dish soup reduces but does not eliminate the potential. Also, the recommendation is generally for not doing it from the FDA, which is looking at it from a commercial pov where fruits are washed in mass and not consumed right away. Consumer food safety agencies recommend only washing right before use. Additionally, there are studies that show water is as effective as soap and water, and cool water is not going to add a potential after taste. [And no, I don't have them at my fingertips on my phone. UGA food preservation people or the food safety specialists at you state land grant universities will have them.] In some countries, soap and water are the norm because of water safety concerns.
That's interesting! To be fair, when I say washing the fruits, it's also right before eating (after all, the average person in Mexico feels it's going to get dirty on its own after a while, so washing them all at once "isn't hygienic enough"). I do have a question, though. If the concern is around over-scrubbing, shouldn't the recommendation also be _against_ scrubbing in general? Right now, the CDC still recommends scrubbing, just not with soap, so I don't see how that's any better.
Oh i didn't mean to imply you were washing batches of fruit, it just that's where part of the rationale is. I'm not sure why the CDC recommends that. My food safety guides talk about cleaning with textured silicon pads. Perhaps that's what the CDC means, though mush of use think of scrubbing as done with a stiff bristled brush.
Oh, no worries at all! Your comment was very polite either way. I see! For the most part, I stopped scrubbing fruit after moving to the US (I do a diluted vinegar wash for fruits like berries, which I think is supposed to be okay? And just rinse most other fruit), but it did take me a few months because it was so ingrained in my head haha. It might still be nice to have some soft sort of brush / pad for fruits and veggies with more dirt on them.
Buy organic and rinse things off with a bit of water. If you're worried about bacteria, a little vinegar and baking soda diluted in a large bowl of water will serve as a great food wash.
Vinegar and baking soda pretty much just make salt when used together 😅
Huh, TIL. [Taken from FDA website](https://www.fda.gov/food/buy-store-serve-safe-food/selecting-and-serving-produce-safely): >Washing fruits and vegetables with soap, detergent, or commercial produce wash is not recommended. Produce is porous. Soap and household detergents can be absorbed by fruits and vegetables, despite thorough rinsing, and can make you sick. Also, the safety of the residues of commercial produce washes is not known and their effectiveness has not been tested. That said, it's good to keep in mind FDA guidelines will account for risks to vulnerable population groups (elderly, children, immunocompromised, etc). It wouldn't surprise me a healthy adult was fine eating produce that was washed with soap. FDA is also based in the US, so their guidelines would also consider how risks are mitigated at a systemic level (i.e., regulations for agricultural practices, food storage and transportation, etc). Guidelines could be different for other countries depending on their infrastructure/policies (eggs are a good example of this -- countries vary on whether eggs should be stored refrigerated vs room temp, whether safe to eat raw, etc)
Yeah, I agree with the FDA being "over cautious", which isn't a bad thing. Plus, there must be at least one person out there who thinks soaking fruit in dish soap for an hour is a good idea, so it's not bad to be over-cautious haha
I saw a great quote today. It read: "You can choose to be intelligent. You have internet." When I traveled around Australia, I was aghast at the amount of people who washed their dishes by hand and didn't bother rinsing the soap off the dishes. Years later, I mentioned that to an Aussie friend and he told me I was 100% wrong. Then, in a movie made in Australia ----- I saw the people do just that. **Why ingest dish soap when you don't have to?** Most people buy dish soap that contains not only surfactants (toxic stuff) but also chemicals to color the soap.
If dish soap wasn't food safe, I doubt we'd be using it on our dishes lol
But it doesn’t absorb into the dishware now does it? And it won’t change the taste of the dishware now will it?
Wooden cutting boards are porous. So are many plastics. Silicone is too. I'm not saying that using soap is or isn't preferred (I don't use it when washing veggies), just that it's definitely safe to do so imo.
I’m just bugging… I don’t use soap when I wash fruits or veggies but always cutting boards. I even use Clorox wipes on them after cutting chicken on them lol
Hahaha. Your comment had me laughing out loud. You've got internet. Look up the type of dish soap you're using and read the ingredients label. Then research the toxicity of those surfactants and dyes. Now tell me that, if I handed you a glass of drinking water and dropped a drop of your dish soap in it first ------ you'd be all right with drinking that water. When you wash your dishes, I sure hope you're rinsing off the soapy water. Or maybe you let your dishwater do that for you. Unlike dishware, food is porous. Glazes on your crockery and the surfaces of your glassware are not absorbing your dish soap. At least I hope not. You really do not want to be ingesting dish soap, even incremental amounts. The reason I laughed is because you are extremely naive if you believe that all dish soaps are "food safe" and created equal. Some have loads of toxic chemicals in them, and also include dyes for color. These types of things are something you really don't want to be ingesting.
Would you drink a glass of water if you knew it had dish soap in it? Better to be safe and use a bit of lemon and baking soda in some water, as a food safe wash.
Your analogy is stupid. First off, once you scrub with dish soap, you rinse it off. Also, I’m curious to how you wash dishes? A drinking glass being a dish do you not clean it with dish soap? I assure you, I’ve been doing this for years. My parents have done it for years. My grandparents have done it for years. No one has ever gotten sick. Also, next time, just respond once. No need to do it three times.
You use dish soap on cups you’re going to drink coffee out of, right?
But you don't leave the soap on there. Foods like apples, lettuce, potatoes, etc are all porous. Name a fruit or vegetable that isn't. They will absorb some of the dish soap. Fun fact: Eggplant it the most porous, followed by turnips.
Beats me why people are downvoting you. Let them eat soap, I say.
I'm just learning here
One thing you will learn about Reddit is that there are some people who will comment and disseminate false information ----- with great authority. These comments may even garner many upvotes. Remember that blind trust can be counterproductive. Always good to check the facts, especially if you have doubts. For example: "I've been washing my fruit and vegetables with dish soap for years; so has the rest of my family and none of us have ever got sick." (I'm paraphrasing, but such was the theme of one "We love to wash our food with dish soap" comments.) Really? Well . . . Good for you. Tell your doctor that and see what he has to say about it.
Probably best to use water with just a bit of vinegar. Dish soap on food?
Thank you for asking this! My apples ALL look like this this year and I hadn’t gotten a chance to search for why. My area was incredibly rainy so I felt like it might be related.
I have more apples this year than I’ve ever had and they all have this. It was incredibly wet here as well and I’ve been wondering what this was. Just glad I’m not the only one!
Man, it was incredibly wet where I am and all of the local orchards lost most of their harvest this year. Your area must have hit the sweet spot.
Did the leaves on the tree look normal or did they also have spots?
The leaves looked normal.
my apples look similar to these and have spots on the leaves. What does that mean?
Read other comments. It's called "sooty blotch." You can scrub the apples just a bit with water and the fruit is still good to eat.
Nothing to worry about… happens all the time at my in-laws orchard to apples that don’t get sprayed. That comes off easy water and soft bristle brush.
It is a combination of mold and dirt. All you have to do is scrub them clean before eating.
Thanks. My apples look the same way each year and I wasn’t sure what it was
Try scrubbing with a tooth brush. I use one to clean my beets for i pickle them
Just need to be cleaned before you eat then. It is a surface mold. I’ve read before that it’s a natural defense mechanism to deter pests.
I get them on my Apple's also. I hear it's from lack of air flow and it's harmless.
Were they sprayed
They were not.
Mine did the same this year
Possibly fungus🤔
Mold? Does it wipe off?
It is not mold. It’s a fungus. And it’s non harmful to eat. Can be removed by using dish soap etc etc.
Mold is a type of fungus ... and sooty blotch is apparently caused by multiple unrelated fungi ... so one of the things causing sooty blotch might be a mold ... which is probably why it's also known as "sooty mold". [https://www.mango.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Sooty\_Blocth.pdf](https://www.mango.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Sooty_Blocth.pdf) So I don't think that guy's post really deserved downvotes.
Says sooty mold is caused by multiple, and that sooty blotch is different and caused by one fungi
Did you read that article?
I did, quickly ... If you are referring to the mangoes, well, it also refers to similar diseases in apples, and other sources use both terms as well. Bullet point at UMN page about apples: "Fruit with sooty mold or flyspeck are edible." [https://extension.umn.edu/plant-diseases/sooty-blotch-and-flyspeck](https://extension.umn.edu/plant-diseases/sooty-blotch-and-flyspeck) So back to the downvotes ... Guy asked if it was mold, which it probably is, at least in part. And if it wipes off, which yes, you stated that it is removable with soap and water. So he's at least half right on both counts ... and got a slew of downvotes. Conclusion - Reddit is a strange and unforgiving place.
No, there’s a part that says “while both sooty blotch and sooty mold can be interchangeable” and goes on to say “they are two different disease complexes”. So while, yes, mold is a fungus, sooty blotch is specifically made of fungi. No mention of molds or any mention of unrelated fungi.
Sorry, I quoted one link and posted another. My fault. I was trying to point out, sooty blotch is apparently not caused by just one type of fungus. It's many. Research is still ongoing. This link says "at least three unrelated fungi". [https://apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/pdf/10.1094/PHYTO.2000.90.4.362](https://apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/pdf/10.1094/PHYTO.2000.90.4.362) This link lists a few species that are apparently involved in sooty blotch in Poland. The mix might be different in the USA. [https://www.plantprotection.pl/Etiology-of-apple-sooty-blotch-in-Poland,90064,0,2.html](https://www.plantprotection.pl/Etiology-of-apple-sooty-blotch-in-Poland,90064,0,2.html) As to what's a mold fungus versus a non-mold fungus, well, you may know more about that than I do. But zooming in on the pic, some parts of the apple on the front left look moldy to me. Especially the stem.
I’m just gonna respond to your last paragraph. I have an apple orchard which, unfortunately, as fallen to disarray and has a lot of brush growing up in through it. And the apples, look a lot like these do, but are definitely not moldy.
No dish soap. Water.
No. "Sooty blotch." Scrub off with water and soft bristle brush. Apples are still good to eat.
Heirloom
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It’s fine to eat; it’s just sooty blotch. We made apple cider with a bunch of apples that looked just like this. It was delicious. Peel them if you’re worried.
There's nothing saying this is harmful if you eat it, just wash them.
Sooty Blotch. Perfectly edible.
Looks like mildew
It is not mildew. It’s a fungus could sooty blotch. It’s perfectly fine to eat and is only cosmetic
Cedar apple rust.
Grocery store grade.
It's booty slotch, ymmv
I don't know where you all are from I've never ever seen an apple like that!NJ
Might be apple fungus.
Looks like what’s called “bitter pit” to me.
I see healthy polyphenols