TAIPEI, Taiwan - Soaking vegetables in water for an extended time might do more harm than good.

The Consumer's Foundation released a new report yesterday to effectively rinse off pesticides that are heavily used in most produce.

The foundation said that two commonly-used removal procedures were found to have negative results. Soaking produce in water for an extended time will destroy the produce's vitamins and washing off with salt water is not as effective compared with tap water. This is because tap water contains chlorine that can remove pesticides.

The foundation says there are four simple methods to eliminate pesticides: remove the vegetable root completely, clean off the dirt with running tap water, soak the produce in the basin for 10-15 minutes, or rinse thoroughly with filtered water before consumption.

The officials suggested that a practical method to clean cauliflower is to rinse them after they were cut into small chucks. For carrots, it should be washed unpeeled to better remove the pesticides. For celery, it is suggested that people cut off the root then soak it for 10-15 minutes two to three times.

Nevertheless the foundation warned that some of the pesticide used on vegetables and fruits cannot be cleaned completely and considers that better measures be used for consumer safety.