Bananas Should Be Washed Before Storage, Experts Say—Here’s Why

A recent claim suggesting bananas should be washed before storage has gone viral online.

According to The Mirror, cleaning expert Tonya Bee, known as @thatcleanbee on TikTok and with 110,000 followers, advises rinsing bananas thoroughly with the peel on as soon as you bring them home. This method is considered the best defense against fruit flies.

According to Tonya Bee, bananas might already be harboring fruit fly eggs, so if you skip the wash, you’re practically rolling out the red carpet for a fruit fly infestation in your kitchen. These tiny pests have a sweet tooth for fruit sugars and love laying eggs near banana stems. Soak your bananas in rice water or with a fruit wash to avoid this. This will prevent not only fruit flies but also other pests.

Another reason to wash bananas is for pesticide residues. Banana farms are notorious for their heavy pesticide use, especially since these tropical treats are typically grown in open fields rather than greenhouses. While bananas travel far from the Philippines, Guatemala, Ecuador, Peru, and Colombia, pesticides are also used during the growing process. These chemicals play a crucial role in ripening and pest control.

When you peel a banana, you are probably grabbing it by the stem. That is prime real estate for pesticide transfer to your hands and the fruit. FDA conducts pesticide residue tests on only the peel of the banana is tested, excluding the stem. Therefore, pesticides remaining in the stem are not detected. Even small amounts of pesticides can negatively affect the human body, such as impaired vision, bronchial constriction, and cancer risk if ingested over a long period, so caution is required.

You can eliminate most pesticides still present in fruits like bananas by washing them. In the case of bananas, pesticides can be effectively removed by washing them in running water more than three times or by mixing vinegar and water in a 1:10 ratio. You can also try a baking soda. Banana stems are pesticide-central, so consider cutting off the top before you eat.