Nutrition: Should you eat fruit with or without the skin?
This richness thus provides an excellent reason to consume fruits with their skin. However, this enthusiasm may be tempered by their pesticide content. A major inspection by the General Directorate for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control (DGCCRF) in 2019 showed that nearly two-thirds of the fruit samples (62.9%) contained "quantifiable residues" of pesticides.
However, this type of observation does not appear to call into question the benefits associated with eating fresh fruit. Nevertheless, like the High Council for Public Health (HCSP), the precautionary principle appears to be in place, highlighting products from organic farming or those deemed "untreated." In a 2017 opinion, its authors recommend "favoring fruits and vegetables grown using production methods that reduce exposure to pesticides (according to a precautionary principle)."
Rinse!If you don't opt for organic, rinse your fruit under running water for about thirty seconds to remove traces of pesticides. This step seems essential. For the rest, as recommended by the UFC-Que-Choisir association, which has also conducted checks to assess the presence of pesticides on fruits and vegetables, "remove the skin from the most contaminated fruits, like peaches and even tomatoes." You won't be depriving yourself of all the benefits of the fruits in question, since vitamins and other minerals also remain present under the skin, in the flesh of the food.
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