Baking Soda Breaks the Surface Pesticide Bonds Plain Water Spares

When you bring a bag of crisp apples, sweet grapes, or leafy greens home from the supermarket, the instinct to wash them is nearly universal. Most people place the produce under the kitchen faucet, let a steady stream of cold tap water run over the surface for ten or fifteen seconds, give the skin a gentle rub with their hands, and dry the food on a clean dish towel. That brief rinse feels clean, hygienic, and comforting. It dislodges visible specks of topsoil, washes away dust from transport crates, and leaves the fruit glistening under the kitchen lights.

Yet beneath that reassuring domestic routine lies an invisible chemical reality. Modern conventional agriculture relies on synthetic crop protection chemicals, including organophosphate insecticides, synthetic pyrethroids, carbamates, and systemic triazole fungicides. These substances protect crops from insect infestations, fungal blights, and post-harvest mould during storage and shipping. Crucially, agrochemical manufacturers design these compounds to withstand the weather. If rain or morning dew could dissolve and wash away these sprays, chemical treatments would fail after every change in humidity.

To achieve weather resistance, agricultural sprays are formulated with non-polar, hydrophobic active ingredients and blended with synthetic adjuvants, surfactants, and polymeric stickers. These additives anchor the chemical molecules firmly to the waxy outer cuticle of the plant. When you rinse an apple or a bunch of grapes under cold tap water, you pit a polar solvent against a non-polar, water-repellent layer designed not to dissolve in water. Cold tap water slides off the surface, leaving hydrophobic chemical residues largely intact.

Over the past decade, analytical food chemistry has tested methods to dislodge these residues in domestic kitchens. Researchers have evaluated commercial produce washes, vinegar soaks, chlorine sanitizers, and alkaline household powders. Among these methods, one humble, inexpensive pantry staple has repeatedly outperformed both plain water and industrial sanitizing washes: sodium bicarbonate, commonly known as baking soda. Understanding why a simple baking soda soak succeeds requires an examination of interfacial physical chemistry, the anatomical structure of fruit peels, and the kinetics of alkaline hydrolysis.

The Physical Chemistry of Agricultural Chemical Residues

To understand why cold tap water leaves agricultural residues behind, one must examine the molecular properties of the chemical compounds applied in modern orchards and fields. Agricultural pesticides are broadly divided into classes based on their target organism and chemical backbone. While biological targets differ, many persistent post-harvest surface residues share identical physical solubility characteristics.

A central metric in environmental toxicology is the octanol-water partition coefficient, commonly expressed as log Kow or log P. This value measures the ratio of a chemical's concentration in an organic solvent (octanol) versus pure water at equilibrium. A positive log Kow above two indicates high hydrophobicity and lipophilicity, meaning the molecule preferentially dissolves in waxes while repelling water.

Consider two widely studied agricultural residues found on orchard fruit: phosmet and thiabendazole. Phosmet is an organophosphate insecticide with a log Kow of roughly 2.78 and aqueous solubility of only twenty milligrams per liter at room temperature. Synthetic pyrethroids, such as bifenthrin and cypermethrin, are even more hydrophobic, with log Kow values between five and seven. To water molecules, these compounds behave like insoluble grease.

Commercial pesticide applications never consist of pure active molecules alone. Formulators blend active ingredients with specialized adjuvants, including stickers, spreaders, and terpene resins derived from pine sap or petroleum polymers. Their explicit purpose is to lower surface tension during spraying, allowing droplets to spread uniformly, and to cure into an insoluble, rain-fast shield. When cold water strikes these compounds, thermodynamics dictates the outcome: water molecules form hydrogen bonds with each other rather than interacting with non-polar pesticide molecules, beading up and rolling off.

The Epicuticular Wax Barrier and the Anatomy of Fruit Peels

The resistance of agricultural residues to water rinsing is equally driven by the natural biological defenses of the plant itself. Every terrestrial fruit, leaf, and stem is coated with an outermost protective layer known as the cuticle, capped on its exterior by the epicuticular wax.

The plant cuticle is a composite membrane synthesized by epidermal cells. Its internal framework consists of cutin, an insoluble cross-linked biopolyester composed of hydroxylated and epoxy-substituted fatty acids. Embedded within and layered over this cutin matrix are cuticular waxes: a dense, hydrophobic blend of very-long-chain aliphatic molecules, including alkanes ranging from twenty to thirty-five carbon atoms in length, long-chain fatty alcohols, wax esters, and free fatty acids. In fruits like apples, plums, and grapes, this wax organizes into microcrystalline structures that scatter light, creating the characteristic matte bloom seen on freshly picked produce.

The epicuticular wax restricts non-stomatal water loss, shields epidermal cells from solar ultraviolet radiation, and forms a physical barrier against fungal spores. However, this same wax creates a lipophilic reservoir for synthetic agricultural chemicals. When hydrophobic pesticide sprays hit the waxy surface of an apple or tomato, non-polar substances dissolve readily in non-polar environments. The pesticide molecules partition directly into the amorphous zones of the epicuticular wax, embedding within the outer fruit skin.

This creates a critical distinction in agricultural food safety between contact pesticides and systemic pesticides:

Contact pesticides remain primarily localized within the outer epicuticular wax and the surface of the fruit. They do not travel through the plant vascular tissue. Examples include many organophosphate insecticides, contact fungicides like captan and mancozeb, and synthetic pyrethroids. Because they reside within or upon the surface wax, they are physically accessible to washing interventions, provided the wash chemistry can interact with the lipophilic matrix.

Systemic pesticides, by contrast, possess physicochemical properties that allow them to cross the cuticular barrier entirely. They penetrate through the cuticular membrane, enter the underlying pectinaceous cell walls of the hypodermis, and migrate into the parenchyma tissue of the edible pulp. Some systemic compounds move locally within the peel tissue (translaminar migration), while others enter the xylem and phloem to circulate throughout the plant.

Once a systemic chemical molecule penetrates beneath the cutin layer and enters the fruit flesh, no surface wash can reach it. Laboratory tracking demonstrates that within twenty-four to forty-eight hours of application, a measurable fraction of systemic fungicides migrates past the epicuticular wax into internal fruit tissue. This biological boundary marks the line where kitchen washing ends and internal food chemistry begins.

Alkaline Hydrolysis and the Mechanism of Sodium Bicarbonate

Because hydrophobic surface residues resist mechanical rinsing with plain water, removing them requires a chemical strategy. You cannot simply flush them away; you must either dissolve the matrix or alter the chemical structure of the pesticide molecule itself. This is where sodium bicarbonate transforms produce washing from an ineffective rinse into an active chemical degradation process.

Sodium bicarbonate ($NaHCO_3$) is an amphoteric crystalline salt composed of sodium cations ($Na^+$) and bicarbonate anions ($HCO_3^-$). In pure solid form, it is stable and non-reactive. When dissolved in domestic water at typical kitchen concentrations—roughly one to two percent by weight, corresponding to one or two teaspoons per cup of water—it undergoes partial hydrolysis:

$$HCO_3^- + H_2O \rightleftharpoons H_2CO_3 + OH^-$$

The generation of free hydroxide ions ($OH^-$) shifts the pH of the aqueous solution into a mildly alkaline range, typically between 8.2 and 8.4. While this mild alkalinity is completely safe for human skin and culinary use, it is chemically disruptive to specific synthetic agricultural compounds.

The primary mechanism by which baking soda neutralizes agricultural chemicals is alkaline hydrolysis, also known as base-catalyzed ester cleavage. Many common agricultural insecticides, particularly organophosphates and carbamates, are built around central ester bonds:

In organophosphates, such as phosmet, chlorpyrifos, malathion, and diazinon, the molecule features a central phosphorus atom bonded to sulfur or oxygen and flanked by ester linkages. The phosphorus atom is strongly electrophilic, carrying a partial positive charge that attracts negative particles.

When an organophosphate molecule encounters a mildly alkaline baking soda bath, the dissolved hydroxide ions act as nucleophiles. The negatively charged hydroxide ion attacks the partially positive phosphorus center. This nucleophilic attack triggers an addition-elimination reaction that cleaves the ester linkage, breaking the parent pesticide molecule apart into smaller, distinct chemical fragments:

• The central organophosphate core is converted into an ionized, water-soluble alkyl phosphate or thiophosphate salt.
• The leaving group, such as a phthalimide moiety in the case of phosmet, is liberated.

This chemical cleavage fundamentally alters the physical behavior of the residue. The resulting degradation products are polar, ionized molecules that possess strong water solubility. They lose their hydrophobic affinity for the fruit's epicuticular wax, detach from the plant cuticle, and dissolve cleanly into the surrounding water bath. Once degraded and solubilized, these compounds can no longer re-adhere to the food and are poured down the kitchen drain when the bath is emptied.

Plain tap water, by contrast, operates at a near-neutral pH (typically 6.5 to 7.5) and lacks an adequate concentration of nucleophilic hydroxide ions to drive hydrolysis at room temperature. Under neutral water conditions, the chemical half-life of many organophosphates spans weeks or months, meaning a two-minute water rinse causes zero measurable chemical breakdown. By elevating the pH to 8.3, baking soda accelerates the rate constant of hydrolysis by orders of magnitude, turning a weeks-long breakdown process into a reaction that occurs within minutes on the kitchen counter.

Benchtop Evidence: Comparing Water, Bleach, and Baking Soda Soaks

For many years, the debate over how to wash produce was dominated by domestic folklore, manufacturer claims for expensive specialized produce sprays, and industrial sanitizing protocols borrowed from commercial packing plants. That ambiguity changed in 2017 when a research team led by analytical chemist Dr. Lili He at the University of Massachusetts Amherst published a landmark study in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

Dr. He and her colleagues sought to settle a practical question: which washing agent actually eliminates pesticide residues from the surface and subsurface of fresh fruit? To test this, the researchers selected organic Gala apples and exposed them to two common commercial pesticides: phosmet, the non-polar organophosphate insecticide, and thiabendazole, the systemic benzimidazole fungicide. The pesticides were applied at realistic commercial concentrations (125 nanograms per square centimeter) and allowed to sit on the fruit for twenty-four hours to mimic real-world transport and retail conditions.

The team then subjected the contaminated apples to three different washing protocols: - Plain municipal tap water. - A commercial sodium hypochlorite (bleach) solution prepared at 500 parts per million, representing the standard industrial post-harvest sanitizing wash used in commercial apple packing houses. - A one percent sodium bicarbonate solution (ten milligrams per milliliter of water), prepared using common household baking soda.

The researchers tracked the presence and location of the pesticide residues using two complementary, highly sensitive analytical tools. For real-time molecular mapping across the surface and depth of the peel, they utilized Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) mapping with gold nanoparticle probes. To quantify the exact residual mass of the chemicals, they performed liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS).

The results were striking and upended industrial assumptions.

The industrial chlorine bleach wash, despite its aggressive antimicrobial power, performed poorly against pesticide residues. While bleach is exceptionally effective at killing bacterial pathogens like Escherichia coli and Salmonella in wash flumes, it proved largely ineffective at degrading surface pesticides on the apples. After standard immersion times, substantial quantities of both phosmet and thiabendazole remained bound to the fruit peel.

Plain tap water performed marginally at best. While vigorous rinsing removed some loosely bound particulate matter, it failed to dislodge the bulk of the hydrophobic residues embedded in the waxy skin.

The one percent baking soda solution, however, demonstrated dramatic efficacy. SERS mapping and mass spectrometry confirmed that the alkaline bath progressively degraded and dissolved surface chemical residues: - Surface thiabendazole was completely eliminated after twelve minutes of soaking. - Surface phosmet was completely eliminated after fifteen minutes of soaking.

Dr. He's team established that the superior performance of the baking soda bath was driven directly by the synergy between physical dissolution and alkaline hydrolysis. The mild base cleaved the chemical bonds of the pesticides, destroying the parent molecules and allowing the fragments to disperse into the water.

Washing apples with sodium bicarbonate solution can reduce pesticides mostly from the surface, where the alkaline environment assists chemical degradation alongside physical removal. — Lili He

The Massachusetts study provided clear, peer-reviewed validation for a simple domestic intervention. It proved that an accessible, non-toxic kitchen powder could accomplish what expensive commercial sanitizers could not: clearing one hundred percent of targeted surface chemical residues within a realistic domestic timeframe.

The Systemic Frontier: Where Chemical Washes Meet Their Limit

While the findings of the UMass Amherst study generated enthusiastic global headlines, a crucial scientific caveat accompanied the data. While the baking soda soak achieved complete clearance of surface residues, its effectiveness diminished steadily as the researchers looked deeper into the fruit tissue.

This brings us back to the crucial boundary between contact and systemic agricultural chemicals. In the UMass experiment, the apples had been exposed to the pesticides for twenty-four hours before washing. During that day-long exposure window, phosmet and thiabendazole did not simply sit motionless on the outside of the wax.

SERS depth-profiling revealed that the systemic fungicide, thiabendazole, had rapidly penetrated the epicuticular wax. Gold nanoparticle mapping detected thiabendazole molecules at depths of up to sixty to eighty micrometers into the peel tissue, reaching past the cutin layer and entering the hypodermal cellular matrix. Even the non-systemic insecticide, phosmet, showed limited diffusion into the outer layers of the cuticular wax.

When the apples were immersed in the baking soda solution, the alkaline water could only interact with molecules accessible at the interface. The hydroxide ions could not penetrate the dense, hydrophobic wax to reach molecules that had already migrated into the fruit interior.

As a result, quantitative analysis revealed that while one hundred percent of surface residues were destroyed, overall whole-apple pesticide reduction was lower: - The baking soda soak removed roughly eighty percent of the total thiabendazole burden, because twenty percent of the fungicide had already internalized into the peel and pulp. - The wash removed approximately sixty-five to seventy percent of the total phosmet burden, as some compound had partitioned into the deeper wax layers beyond the reach of the aqueous solvent.

Subsequent foliar penetration research published by food scientists in recent years has confirmed this physical limit across a broader range of produce. In spinach leaves and basil, systemic compounds like acetamiprid penetrate past stomata and thin epidermal layers within hours, moving into photosynthetic mesophyll tissue. In grapes and berries, where the cuticle is thin, systemic fungicides applied during wet growing seasons enter the internal berry pulp, where no external washing solution can make contact.

This reality establishes a fundamental rule of kitchen food safety: washing is a surface intervention, not an internal detoxifier. No chemical wash can extract chemical molecules that have integrated into the living cellular parenchyma of a fruit or vegetable.

This structural reality forces a practical choice between peeling and washing. Peeling an apple, peach, pear, or cucumber physically slices away the epidermis, cutin, and hypodermis, eliminating virtually all pesticide residues, both surface and internalized. However, that physical decontamination comes at a massive nutritional cost. The peel of an apple contains up to three hundred percent more dietary fiber, six times more vitamin C, and the overwhelming majority of the fruit's antioxidant quercetin and anthocyanin polyphenols compared to the pale inner flesh.

For consumers seeking to maximize nutritional intake while minimizing chemical exposure, a thorough baking soda soak represents the optimal scientific compromise. It strips away the accessible surface residues—which represent the vast majority of acute chemical mass—while allowing you to retain the nutrient-dense peel intact.

Domestic Myths: Why Vinegar and Commercial Veggie Sprays Fall Short

In the absence of clear scientific education, domestic kitchens have become fertile ground for well-meaning but chemically counterproductive food preparation hacks. Two practices in particular dominate consumer forums and social media: washing produce in vinegar solutions, and purchasing specialized commercial produce washes. Examining both through the lens of solution chemistry reveals why neither matches the efficacy of simple baking soda.

The vinegar myth is perhaps the most widespread. Across blogs and consumer media, people are routinely advised to soak their leafy greens, berries, and orchard fruit in a bath of white distilled vinegar or apple cider vinegar diluted with water. The rationale usually sounds plausible: vinegar is a natural acid, acid kills germs, and therefore vinegar must clean produce.

The flaw in this reasoning is the confusion between microbiological sanitation and chemical residue degradation. White distilled vinegar contains roughly five percent acetic acid ($CH_3COOH$), creating an acidic bath with a pH between 2.5 and 3.5. While an acidic environment disrupts certain foodborne bacteria, it does the opposite for pesticide chemistry: the chemical bonds of organophosphates, carbamates, and synthetic pyrethroids are acid-stable, with virtually no free hydroxide ions ($OH^-$) available to drive nucleophilic cleavage.

In fact, organophosphates hydrolyze slowest in acidic conditions. Lowering pH from neutral (7.0) down to acidic (3.0) extends the chemical half-life of compounds like chlorpyrifos and phosmet, preserving their molecular integrity rather than degrading them. Soaking fruit in vinegar water chemically stabilizes the very residues you want to eliminate, while porous berries and greens absorb the acid and turn mushy.

The second common practice is purchasing commercial fruit and vegetable washes sold in spray bottles at premium prices. Ingredient panels reveal a familiar formula: water, mild surfactants like decyl glucoside, citric acid, and citrus oils. While surfactants lower surface tension, independent tests confirm they perform no better than water alone and far worse than baking soda.

A 2018 comparative evaluation in Food Chemistry analyzed pesticide removal from tomatoes and green peppers across commercial washes, ozonated water, tap water, and sodium bicarbonate. Commercial surfactant sprays removed only twenty to thirty percent of surface residues through simple physical rinsing, lacking the basic alkalinity needed to cleave pesticide bonds. Paying a steep markup for a commercial spray buys little more than scented soapy water. The chemical tool required to break pesticide bonds is the basic chemistry of an inexpensive alkaline salt.

A Practical Kitchen Protocol for Washing Everyday Produce

Translating laboratory physical chemistry into a sustainable household routine requires a clear, step-by-step kitchen protocol. You do not need calibrated laboratory pipettes or protective gear to clean produce safely. A standard kitchen basin, tap water, and a box of culinary baking soda provide everything necessary.

Here is the evidence-based protocol for preparing produce using alkaline degradation:

Preparation and Dissolution Ratio

Fill a clean ceramic, stainless steel, or glass mixing bowl with cold tap water. The optimal concentration established by the University of Massachusetts research is a one percent solution (ten milligrams of sodium bicarbonate per milliliter of water). In domestic kitchen measurements, this translates to: - One teaspoon (roughly five grams) of baking soda for every two cups (500 milliliters) of water. - Or approximately one level tablespoon (fifteen grams) for every 1.5 liters (six cups) of water in a large prep bowl.

Stir the water gently with a spoon until the white baking soda crystals have completely dissolved and the water appears clear. Do not drop produce directly onto undissolved baking soda mounds at the bottom of the bowl, as uneven dissolution creates localized pH pockets rather than a uniform soaking bath.

Immersion and Contact Time

Submerge the produce fully in the solution. Because many fruits (such as apples and bell peppers) are buoyant due to internal air pockets, they will float. Place a clean plate or ceramic saucer on top of the produce to keep it submerged below the water line.

The contact duration is dictated by the chemical kinetics of hydrolysis: - For hard-skinned fruits and vegetables (apples, pears, firm plums, bell peppers, cucumbers, and carrots): soak for twelve to fifteen minutes. This duration allows the mildly alkaline solution sufficient time to cleave the organophosphate and carbamate bonds embedded in the outer wax. - For smooth, non-porous fruits like grapes and cherry tomatoes: soak for eight to ten minutes. - Agitate the water gently by hand halfway through the soak to ensure fresh solution circulates across all skin surfaces.

Mechanical Action and Final Rinsing

Chemical degradation loosens and hydrolyzes surface residues, but physical rinsing completes the removal: - For firm produce with sturdy rinds: give the surface a gentle scrub with a soft-bristled produce brush or a clean cloth while holding the fruit under the water. - Lift the produce out of the soaking bowl. Never pour the bowl out over the fruit through a colander, as this filters the dirty, residue-laden wash water back over the clean food. - Transfer the fruit to a clean colander and rinse thoroughly under running cold tap water for fifteen to thirty seconds. This final rinse flushes away the cleaved, water-soluble degradation fragments, loosened wax particles, and residual alkaline sodium ions, preventing any chalky aftertaste. - Dry the produce thoroughly with a clean cloth or fresh paper towel. The friction of towel drying provides additional mechanical removal, dislodging lingering loosened wax.

Commodity-Specific Adaptations

Different botanical categories possess vastly different cellular architectures, requiring common-sense adjustments to the core protocol:

Porous Berries (Strawberries, Raspberries, Blueberries, Blackberries): Delicate berries lack a thick, waxy cuticle and possess highly permeable cellular epidermal membranes. Soaking soft berries in an alkaline bath for fifteen minutes causes them to absorb water via osmosis, rupturing cellular walls, diluting flavor, and turning the fruit to mush. Furthermore, the high moisture accelerates mould growth. For soft berries, avoid prolonged soaking entirely. Prepare a milder baking soda wash (half a teaspoon per liter), immerse the berries in a mesh strainer for only one to two minutes with gentle swirling, and immediately rinse thoroughly under cold running water. Consume or dry immediately on paper towels.

Leafy Greens (Spinach, Kale, Chard, Lettuce): Leafy greens possess expansive surface areas with stomata and trichomes (leaf hairs) that readily trap dust, soil, and agricultural sprays. Separate the leaves and submerge them in a large basin of the standard one percent baking soda solution for five minutes. Swirl vigorously to dislodge grit, lift the greens from the water, rinse thoroughly in a colander under a running spray, and spin them completely dry in a salad spinner. Removing residual moisture is critical to preserving crispness and preventing bacterial breakdown in refrigeration.

Smooth-Skin Citrus (Lemons, Oranges, Limes): Citrus fruits destined for zesting in baking or cocktails warrant special attention. Citrus groves frequently use post-harvest wax coatings embedded with systemic fungicides to prevent mould decay. A standard cold soak removes only surface residues. If you plan to grate citrus zest, soak the fruit in warm baking soda water (roughly forty degrees Celsius) for ten minutes and scrub firmly with a produce brush to soften and strip the outer wax layer before zesting.

Regulatory Context and Why Produce Remains Safe and Vital

When discussing agricultural chemicals, it is exceptionally easy for consumers to slide into anxiety, chemophobia, or paralysis. Sensationalist headlines regarding the "Dirty Dozen" or chemical contamination often lead well-meaning people to abandon fresh fruits and vegetables altogether, or to assume that non-organic grocery items are dangerous. Rigorous public health science paints an entirely different picture.

Modern agricultural practices operate under strict national and international regulatory frameworks designed to protect consumer health. In New Zealand, the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) manages the Food Residues Surveillance Programme (FRSP) and conducts comprehensive Total Diet Studies (TDS). These monitoring programs systematically collect thousands of domestic and imported produce samples from retail shelves, testing them for hundreds of agricultural compounds using advanced mass spectrometry.

The data from these surveillance initiatives is overwhelmingly reassuring. Year after year, the New Zealand Total Diet Study confirms that over ninety-five percent of tested food samples contain either no detectable pesticide residues whatsoever, or residues present at levels far below the established Maximum Residue Limit (MRL). The MRL is not a toxicological threshold of danger; it is a legally enforceable trade standard set with enormous safety margins—typically one hundred to one thousand times lower than the lowest concentration that could cause biological harm in animal or human toxicological trials.

Similar findings are documented annually in the United States by the USDA Pesticide Data Program and across Europe by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). In the vast majority of cases, the trace residues detected on supermarket produce represent negligible exposures that human hepatic detoxification pathways easily process and eliminate.

Most importantly, broad epidemiological research consistently demonstrates that the profound health benefits of consuming a diet rich in fruits and vegetables completely eclipse any theoretical risk from trace agricultural residues. Diets high in diverse fresh produce reduce the incidence of cardiovascular disease, ischemic stroke, metabolic syndrome, neurodegenerative decline, and multiple forms of cancer.

A toxicological analysis published in the Journal of Toxicology evaluated the actual dietary risks associated with conventional produce consumption. The researchers calculated that if consumers reduced their fruit and vegetable intake due to fears over pesticide residues, the resulting increase in chronic cardiovascular and metabolic diseases would cause tens of thousands of preventable health complications.

Practicing food hygiene with a baking soda wash should never stem from fear or paranoia. It is simply a smart, evidence-based domestic habit—like washing your hands after riding public transit, cutting raw meat on a dedicated board, or wiping down a kitchen counter. A twelve-minute soak in an inexpensive baking soda bath provides an elegant, scientifically verified method to strip away non-polar agricultural residues and surface environmental dust, giving you total peace of mind as you nourish your body with vibrant, nutrient-dense whole foods.

Sources: Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (UMass Amherst, 2017); Journal of Food Science and Technology (PMC3907644, 2014); Food Chemistry (2018); New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries Food Residues Surveillance Programme; European Food Safety Authority Pesticide Monitoring Reports.

This article is for general education and does not replace advice from a qualified healthcare professional.

Sources

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

www.sciencedirect.com

www.mpi.govt.nz

www.efsa.europa.eu

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

This article is for general education and does not replace advice from a qualified healthcare professional.