Leading Pediatrician Urges Parents To Not Feed Grapes To Their Kids: 'It Causes Sore Throat'

Grapes, strawberries, java plum (Jamun) and other berries are known for their nutritional benefits. However, there has been a sudden concern related to grapes claiming that kids consuming such fruits are becoming victims of sore throats. But why is this happening? A lot of research and health experts are asking parents to avoid feeding grapes to their children as they are strongly associated with severe sore throats in children. Dr Nihar Parekh, Pediatrician, and director of Cheers Child Care took to Instagram to spread the word. In his Instagram reel, he shared the reason why a lot of children are experiencing severe sore throats.

“A lot of children are facing severe throat infections because the grapes that hang from trees are constantly attacked by a lot of flies and pests. So to prevent this the grape harvesters continuously spread an intense amount of pesticides. And since they then pluck and give it to you after plain simple water washing cannot get rid of pesticides. These pesticides then attack the throat directly in children who have allergic phenomena of the chest, induce coughs, chemical pharyngitis, tonsils and fever.”

He further added that to prevent this, you must wash your grapes properly with baking soda, or vinegar.

According to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), grapes are heavily sprayed with pesticides. Grapes have 56 pesticide residues, including 8 probable carcinogens, 17 suspected hormone disruptors, and 10 neurotoxins. According to the UK government’s “Dirty Dozen” list, which ranks fruits and vegetables with the highest levels of pesticide residues, grapes contain the highest level of pesticides. Also, another study stated that grape samples contain quantifiable residues of more than one pesticide, with boscalid being the most frequently found. The limits of quantification for the 406 pesticide residues ranged from 0.001 to 0.02 mg/kg.

So what are the effective ways to clean grapes? Let’s check!

Effective Ways To Clean Grapes:

Baking Soda

You can clean grapes by rinsing them in a sink and adding a couple of teaspoons of baking soda, salt and warm water. Let it stay for 5-10 minutes. Then wash off with fresh water. The salt acts like an abrasive or microdermabrasion. Clean grapes are shiny, while grapes that aren’t cleaned still have wax on them. You should clean grapes right before you use them, otherwise they’ll go bad quicker.

Vinegar Solution

Mix equal amounts of vinegar and water in a bowl. Soak grapes for a few minutes, then rinse with clean water to remove the taste of vinegar.

Saltwater Rinse

Dissolve 1 teaspoon of salt in 2 cups of water. Soak grapes briefly, then rinse with fresh water.

Lemon Juice

Mix lemon juice and water in a bowl. Soak grapes for a few minutes, then rinse well.

Steam Cleaning

Use a steamer to gently steam grapes for a few seconds, killing bacteria and removing dirt. Let them cool before eating.