Fresh Produce with Edible Skins

• Health experts recommend thoroughly cleaning all fresh fruits and vegetables, but you'll need to do more than just run things under the faucet. The American Dietetic Association recommends washing your hands before handling any fresh produce and using clean scissors or knives to cut open packages. As for the produce itself, the ADA recommends discarding the outer leaves of lettuce and scrubbing all whole fruits and vegetables, such as apples and carrots, with a clean potato brush.

Fresh Produce with Inedible Skins

• You might be surprised to learn you need to rinse produce with inedible skins, such as avocados, bananas and oranges. After all, you aren't going to eat the outside. However, if harmful bacteria have somehow gotten onto the peel, you could transfer it to the flesh while preparing your food. The Centers for Disease Control recommends rinsing all such fruits and vegetables. It cautions against using detergents on them, however, because soaps can be toxic if ingested.

Canned, Frozen and Prewashed Produce

• You generally don't need to wash canned and frozen fruits. Packagers wash fruits and vegetables before freezing, and canned fruits and vegetables are cooked before packaging. Rinsing canned vegetables can help reduce their sodium content, according to the Weight Control Information Network. The CDC reports you can safely eat produce labeled "prewashed" or "triple washed."

Pesticide Considerations

• If you're concerned about pesticide contamination, you'll need to do more than wash produce. Some fruits and vegetables absorb high levels of pesticides as they grow, and you won't be able to wash those chemicals off, according to the Environmental Working Group, as quoted by PBS.org. The EWG recommends purchasing organic celery, berries, stone fruits, apples, grapes, potatoes, lettuce and root vegetables. These vegetables and fruits tend to absorb the highest levels of pesticides.