Forums > Social Discussion > would you willingly drink bleach? chemicals on your vegies

To begin, of course, the title of this thread is a rhetorical question, i dont believe anyone in their right mind would.



Since finishing highschool towards the end of last year, I began working in a large market garden, my job is to wash and pack various vegetables. Our clients include such major stores as Coles and Safewa (Woolworths), which, as all australians would know, are our two most major supermarket chains.



A day at my work, usually consists of standing at a converyor belt, and either putting vegies on it, or removing vegies from it, this belt passes through a machine, and the vegies are sprayed with water and such, in order to make them more presentable and create more appeal to our buyers.





I'd been doing this mind-numbing activity for a few weeks, when I realised that behind our most used washing machine, is a large bottle of chemical, with the labels 'oxidiser', 'corosive', 'poison' and 'biocide'.. with a tube leading into the machine.. on closer inspection, it turned out to be a chemical named 'Tsunami 100' with the active ingredient 'Peroxyacetic acid.'



As one would imagine, I decided to learn a little more about this chemical, just to make sure that I wasn't coming into any harm at work, and, as I learnt, this chemical breaks down into 'hydrogen peroxide,' more commonly known as bleach..



In adition to this, although the chemical isn't meant to be near the proportions presented in those links (at work it is meant to be 5ml every 100L) our machine has had a problem with the chemical regulator recently, and little to nothing has been done to remedy this, so there is much more than usual of this chemical being used than reccomended.



So, my question is thus: how do you feel, about the vegetables (and presumably fruit) being sold at your local supermarket, being (essentially) coated in the same chemical you would use to dye your hair, remove bloodstains or unclog a toilet?



cheers, pete

"you know there are no trophys for doing silly things in real life yeah pete?" said ant "you wont get a 'listened to ride of the valkyries all the way to vietnam' trophy"

*proud owner of the very cute fire_spinning_angel, birgit and neon shaolin*

how 'bout you tipping off the health department?

the best smiles are the ones you lead to

its a legal chemical to use, as far as ive learnt, and as far as i can tell, there is no legal max for the concentration of the chemical.. so i cant see any real legal point, i guess

just kinda crap though.. yet another reason for organics

"you know there are no trophys for doing silly things in real life yeah pete?" said ant "you wont get a 'listened to ride of the valkyries all the way to vietnam' trophy"

*proud owner of the very cute fire_spinning_angel, birgit and neon shaolin*

Ever heard of Sodium Laureth Sulfate? Check your floor cleaning detergent, washing powder and .... toothpaste



Sometimes I wonder whether those in charge and knowledge do consume their own products...



To answer your initial (rethorical) question: not under 1.ooo.ooo $ (preferrably Pound Sterling) and suggesting you have a word with your supervisor/ manager/ owner on this (if you don't give a damn about your job that is)



Good luck mate

the best smiles are the ones you lead to

i would have changed ***** to phallus, and claire to petey Petey

Rougie: but that's what I'm doing here
Arnwyn: what letting me adjust myself in your room?..don't you dare quote that on HoP...

Yet another reason to wash your vegies

ॐ

Owner of burningoftheclavey
Owned by Lost83spy

"vices are like genitals - most are ugly to behold, and yet we find that our own are dear to us."
(G.W. Dahlquist)

Owner of Dragosani's left half

i would have changed ***** to phallus, and claire to petey Petey

Rougie: but that's what I'm doing here
Arnwyn: what letting me adjust myself in your room?..don't you dare quote that on HoP...

"They say it takes more muscles to frown than it does to smile; thus smiling is for pansies" - The Short Gorilla

"Smoke me a kipper, I'll be back for breakfast" - Ace Rimmer

A couple of balls short of a full cascade... or maybe a few cards short of a deck... we'll see how this all fans out.

-Mike )'(
Certified Mad Doctor and HoP High Priest of Nutella

"A buckuht 'n a hooze!" -Valura

Doc, you're right: "No credible evidence exists to demonstrate that SLS is unsafe for human use"

Would you agree on the stance that "SLS, in its pure form, is a skin irritant. But, no one suggests you put pure SLS on your skin hour after hour and leave it there. That's the way irritability tests are performed. Pure SLS is placed on the skin and left for hours. In that form it is deemed an irritant. However, in health and beauty formulations, SLS is highly diluted by the other ingredients and is usually rinsed off (in the case of shampoos or body washes) or rinsed out- (in the case of toothpastes), minimizing or eliminating the irritating effects. Only those with highly sensitive skin are adversely harmed by the levels of SLS in most products and these effects are usually just mild skin irritations (rash or dry skin)."

Pls tell me how some ppl are heavy smokers and live to be 90, whilst their non-smoking partners die from lung cancer?

 Written by: AHI

The benefits of using antibiotics to keep animals healthy outweigh the small risk of the products. One risk assessment showed that removing an antibiotic used to
treat sick chickens would cause more than 100 cases of food-borne illness in humans for each theoretical case of antibiotic resistant disease avoided.



It simply is all about 'opinion' now, isn't it? I was going as far as to say: If there is anything worrying you, maybe it's your body sending signals to be cautious with said topic.

Our bodies are NOT same same, but different. One is susceptible to influenza whilst his brother is not.

 Written by: consumeraffairs.com 2005

The chance of developing a malignant brain tumor was roughly eight times higher for cell phone users in the Swedish countryside than in urban areas. The risk of developing any brain tumor was four times higher for country dwellers using mobile phones for five years or more, compared with those who did not use the devices.



Any health risk warning on cellphones by now?

 Written by: cancercommentary.com 2007

Previous study has already found no clear connection of cell phones (mobiles) to brain cancer.

Now, UK�s largest investigation on the possible health risks from mobile telephone technology found nothing.

No biological or adverse health effects has been found connected with long term use of mobile phones. The investigation�s results was so sure they said there is no use of further investigate the issue.

According to Professor Lawrie Challis, Chairman of MTHR (Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research) :

�This is a very substantial report from a large research programme. The work reported today has all been published in respected peer-reviewed scientific or medical journals.

The results are so far reassuring but there is still a need for more research, especially to check that no effects emerge from longer-term phone use from adults and from use by children.�



Choose to your liking...

Now if a body is exposed to SLS (or bleach) to a certain degree (Birgit: yes I was referring to SLS in toothpaste - 1) who still regards foam = cleaning and therefore needs this stuff? 2) IM(non academic and very)HO the gums are more delicate than the outer skin of the body, therefore substances are more likely to affect your body when in contact with your soft tissue, rather than (for say) on your feet) her/ his body may get a problem with it, no?

Oh man, I'm really "back into SD" - want to make and print a flyer for the convention in two weeks... gotta run.

the best smiles are the ones you lead to

-Mike )'(
Certified Mad Doctor and HoP High Priest of Nutella

"A buckuht 'n a hooze!" -Valura

I'm not intending to wrestle with you, Mike And I'm not trying to challenge you on your professional POV, but how 'bout drinking a shot of 'bleach' every day? You reckon it would accumulate into a problem over times? Or how 'bout drinking a shot of bleach (heavily diluted that is) when the body already is struggling with a lot of other poisons already? Would it possibly create an uncomfortable reaction in the body?

You are saying that antibiotics in food animals breed resistant food-borne disease "in the long run"... if (proven) so, couldn't we sue the respective food industries for compensation in case?

No booby traps, however: IMO it's the culmination and dose of substances that make the poison. Therefore residue of bleach on my veggies is nothing I fancy, especially not if it's due to a broken machine and a scrooged shop owner.

the best smiles are the ones you lead to

point well taken doc.. i do agree with completely with what you've said (especially the your 'i love you' point ) but i nonetheless feel an element of concern that these chemicals are used, and that there is no guaruntee of them having degraded into other more safe chemicals.. however.. i didnt mean to sound so 'POISONOUS CHEMICALS!' ish.. if you know what i mean

i also feel i should point out that i havent studied chemistry or biology past a mid-high-school level, so what ive said, im more than happy to be commented/corrected on

"you know there are no trophys for doing silly things in real life yeah pete?" said ant "you wont get a 'listened to ride of the valkyries all the way to vietnam' trophy"

*proud owner of the very cute fire_spinning_angel, birgit and neon shaolin*

If you don't want the luxury of foam when brushing your teeth (you yourself say "who needs it?"), brush them with detergent-free toothpastes which are readily available. A little thought about why they're about 2-3 times the price of the SLS-containing ones, for LEAVING OUT an ingredient, might be appropriate, but far be it from me to suspect anyone of scaremongering gullible people of nasty chemicals to make money with an alternative product...

On top of the foam, the American dentist association claims that detergents reduce bacteria living on the toothbrush, and by lowering the surface tension make it easier to remove stuff from teeth - so they're not completely useless. I found one study that found some side effects, but instead of recommending to not have detergents in toothpaste they recommend using milder ones.

Oh, and Stout, while I agree with everything else I'd like to challenge the "just an oxygen more" argumentation, after all my favourite cyanide is just a nitrogen more than harmless carbon...

"vices are like genitals - most are ugly to behold, and yet we find that our own are dear to us."
(G.W. Dahlquist)

Owner of Dragosani's left half

"You can't outrun Death forever.
But you can make the Bastard work for it."

--MAJOR KORGO KORGAR,
"Last of The Lancers"
AFC 32


Educate your self in the Hazards of Fire Breathing STAY SAFE!

 Written by: FireTom



I'm not intending to wrestle with you, Mike And I'm not trying to challenge you on your professional POV, but how 'bout drinking a shot of 'bleach' every day? You reckon it would accumulate into a problem over times? Or how 'bout drinking a shot of bleach (heavily diluted that is) when the body already is struggling with a lot of other poisons already? Would it possibly create an uncomfortable reaction in the body?





Why are you talking about drinking a shot of bleach? I never brought up drinking a shot of bleach.



 Written by:



No booby traps, however: IMO it's the culmination and dose of substances that make the poison. Therefore residue of bleach on my veggies is nothing I fancy, especially not if it's due to a broken machine and a scrooged shop owner.





I'm still confused. The "residue" left by peroxyacetic acid is acetic acid (vinegar), water, and molecular oxygen. What "residue" were you concerned about? The vinegar?

-Mike )'(
Certified Mad Doctor and HoP High Priest of Nutella

"A buckuht 'n a hooze!" -Valura

Faith
Nay, whatever comes one hour was sunlit and the most high gods may not make boast of any better thing than to have watched that hour as it passed

-Mike )'(
Certified Mad Doctor and HoP High Priest of Nutella

"A buckuht 'n a hooze!" -Valura

Be aware, the evil flowers may eat your toes....
Have no friends not equal to yourself...
Feed your mind, read a book

"Here kitty kitty...." - Schroedinger.

I side you, Mike... Whenever I spill Kerosene (before spinning off) and that environmentalists voice comes up in my head with raised index finger, I scream: "Whaddaya want? (a) it's a few drops only and (b) this stuff originates from nature." Same applies to me using the airplane for intercontinental travels, the use of my motorcycle, eating meat and other activities...

Dunno what anyone is concerned about, except for selective reading... and unfounded titling *shakes fist at PP*

the best smiles are the ones you lead to

Back in my cheffing days, in one particular job, the head chef was very particular about us re-washing the bought washed lettuce for this very reason... but then, you are just washing it in tap water, which is just more chemicals! (Albeit obviously safe for human consumption, but so - apparently - is the stuff its washed in before we buy it)

I am sure that the stuff it is being washed in is better than the stuff it that has been sprayed and poured all over it and the ground when it is growing (unless its all organic of course!)


*wonders if the organic stuff in supermarkets is similarly washed in this fashion*

I like my spuds to come with the dirt still on em anyway.

Only three things are certain: Death, Taxes, and that England will not win back the Ashes in this lifetime.

-Mike )'(
Certified Mad Doctor and HoP High Priest of Nutella

"A buckuht 'n a hooze!" -Valura

You also tilt when you should withdraw, and that is Knightly too. Rest In Peace, Heath.

Proudly Owned By FireTom.

Having worked in a few fruit 'n veg packing sheds, I'd definitely suggest washing fruit and veg, even if it *is* labelled organic.. I did a few weeks work picking/packing organic blueberries, and I can definitely state they were *not* washed- with anything- before sale.
It might not be washed in bleach, that doesn't mean a bird hasn't pooped on it..

On a side note- I always get a geeky laugh out of products labelled 'chemical free'.. I mean.. what are they, a vacuum?

THE MEEK WILL INHERIT THE EARTH!


If that's okay with you?

Faith
Nay, whatever comes one hour was sunlit and the most high gods may not make boast of any better thing than to have watched that hour as it passed