Roadside fruit and picking

Shiny.Side.Up

Done it all my life and never had any issues.

enrich100

Im not saying don't eat thats your choice, I choose not to live next to a busy road I choose not to eat fruit from very busy roads, yes you can wash the fruit to clean of external pollutants but it what has been absorbed that is a concern,
I grow my own fruit and veg as I prefer not to eat vegetables that have had unnessesary chemicals put on them, perhaps Im lucky that I am in a semi rural area and have the choice to pick fruit on country lanes instead of busy roads

ALIBOBSY

I read a reply to a letter regarding polution affecting fruit and veg in grow your own mag. The reply was by an organic gardening expert. She said that as long as the veg was thoroughly washed it wasn't a problem. You can even get enviromental wipes to clean veggies to be extra safe.
I doubt commercial growers bother about roads running past the fields and alot of imported fruit spends alot of time on the back of HGV's on busy roads.

ali x

Alan_Cross

When you think of all the mainstream crops growing right alongside motorways...

underlay_guru

Of course it can be eaten safely! If there was some sort of lead poisoning risk, would you not think that everyone who lived alongside a major road had major health problems?

There is a project in Todmorden, West Yorkshire where fruit and vegetables are planted in any spare piece of land in the town, including grass verges and in the centre of roundabouts. Flower beds and hanging baskets have made way for herb gardens and root vegetable platations, and the residents are then free to pick the crop for their own consumption! Check it out here:

http://www.incredible-edible-todmorden.co.uk

SailorSam

If you do eat it, and you die, can you let us know, so we can avoid it.

RHYSDAD

SailorSam wrote: »

If you do eat it, and you die, can you let us know, so we can avoid it.

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

gmgmgm

gmgmgm wrote: »

Just pick it and eat it.

Mojisola wrote: »

Pick it, wash it and eat it.

If you really want to. No hard feelings, but if you're so worried about what's on the surface of the average fruit, then God only knows what's been absorbed and is now on the inside!

Anyway, I've been eating blackberries, apples etc off fruit trees near and far from road for decades with no ill effect whatsoever.

There are some worried people on this thread, but I expect after you've individually washed each blackberry back at home you'll just want to eat it directly off the plant next time!

Mojisola

I wasn't thinking about blackberries - the OP was asking about plums. It would spoil blackberries to wash them - eat them straight from the bush, lovely!

You can make a very tasty false-mango chutney using the yellow plums.

buxtonrabbitgreen

Yukk no. I always wash blackberries very well. haven't you ever seen how many maggots they can have on them. In fact I soak them in salt water so I can pick the nasties off the top.