“Unnecessary cost, another nanny state law example” became the room’s refrain as No won by more than four to one. Every posted opinion came from that side, making the result less a clash of arguments than a sustained rejection of the premise that retailers should take this task on.
The floor’s joint-highest-rated cases concentrated on practical consequences. One warned that “Industrial washing simply removes the wax layer”, while another said washing at home “only takes a couple of minutes, costs nothing”; together they framed pre-washing as a route to shorter shelf life, more packaging and higher prices.
Yes had no advocate on the page to answer that case. No voters argued that people already wash produce themselves, that cooking may matter more, and that washing is no guarantee of safety — one put it bluntly: “Washing it does not mean it clean”. Even the page’s stray exchange, “I also initially thought it was about clothes. No it's about fruit and vegetables”, added a note of muddle to an otherwise one-sided debate.
The wider argument was less about food technology than responsibility: where public protection ends and personal routine begins. The strongest version of that objection said the state “truly thinks we are incapable of brushing our own children's teeth, or washing our own vegetables”, while others extended the case to water use, chemicals, administration and waste.
This was a decisive answer, but the page’s deeper message was about trust: voters preferred a habit they control to a guarantee retailers would provide.
18 Opinions
We have been aware that some stuff needs to be washed before eating it for decades. Some stuff is sold explicitly as ready to eat, which one would assume would mean it had been washed already. It seems overkill to wash everything though, especially because many of us will just take it home and wash it again anyway.
Washing it does not mean it clean, unless you use chlorine etc., and even then its not fool proof. Germs can still grow on washed produce. It adds to the cost, increases the need for packaging and processing, uses water and toxic chemicals, and reduces the shelf life, for very little benefit to the consumer. Washing your veg before eating/cooking is the best time to do this simple action for healthy veg and healthy people.
NO Are today's customers so stupid they don't understand they need to wash something grown in a field before they eat it?
Good grief … the nanny state is gradually eroding any sense of personal responsibility. Surely we can wash vegetables and fruit without it being done for us? For me it’s frightening if people really want this yet will just overdose on the synthetic folic acid added to virtually every product in the supermarket .
Wash them yourself when you buy them. A huge amount of clothes ate unsold ,why waste resources washing these? Additional layers of admin are not required either. It would add needless cost. Howw would you tell if someone has tried on a garment off the peg, after the retailer wash, take it home assuming it was washed? People handle garments on the racks anyway, how do you recall them for washing?
This Government has such a low opinion of voters. It truly thinks we are incapable of brushing our own children's teeth, or washing our own vegetables. What next?
I don't see what's wrong with leaving this the same as it is now. People know that they should wash produce before cooking, surely?
No! I dint trust them, I prefer to wash em myself , then I know they ok for consumption .
Washing produce before consumption is just common sense. Retailers washing produce means more time and resources required which inevitably will cause prices to go up for the consumer.
Washing products wont stop illness however cooking them properly will