Investigating the Effectiveness of Different Cleaners at Removing Hydrophobic Coatings on Fresh Produce

Abstract

The presence of potentially harmful paraffin wax coatings on fresh produce is a source of growing concern in regards to exposure to allergens or carcinogens (Galus et al. 19; Kumar 33). Due to the health risks associated with edible wax coatings, it is important to thoroughly wash store-bought produce with suitable cleaners. The objective of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of four cleaners (tap water, dish soap, hand soap and white vinegar) at removing hydrophobic coatings (Vaseline) on mini cucumbers when viewed under a blacklight flashlight. The percent Vaseline removal was estimated for the four treatment groups and control, revealing that tap water samples removed the least Vaseline (7.7%), whereas those treated with dish soap, and vinegar removed the most (36.6% and 32.5%, respectively). A one-way ANOVA test was completed on GraphPad Prism 9, resulting in a P-value of < 0.0001. As the P-value is less than the significance level of 0.05, the null hypothesis that the four cleaners are equally effective at removing hydrophobic coatings can be rejected. It was determined that a significant difference did exist between the Vaseline removal efficiency of the cleaners. However, a Tukey Kramer test run on RStudio revealed no significant difference between dish soap and vinegar with a P-value of 0.725. Our research study concluded that dish soap and white vinegar are the best choices to effectively remove hydrophobic wax coatings to ensure the safe consumption of fresh produce.