Before blackberry season gets under way...

[pseudomonas]

When I was a kid back in the 80s, I was told not to pick and eat fruit growing next to busy roads. In these days of near-universal unleaded petrol, does this advice still hold true at all?

Comments

[tig_b]

Depends how much lead settled in the soil and plants before the changeover. Fresh lead can be partly washed off, internally absorbed into the poor plants is nasty.

[alextiefling]

When nanaya and I pick roadside cherries, we wash them in potassium permanganate solution, and then wash that off thoroughly, before eating. So far, neither the fumes nor the permanganate have killed us.

[gerald_duck]

It's probably worth worrying about particulates from diesel fumes, benzene, sulphur, general grime, etc. as well.

Back in the day, brake pads were made with asbestos, so brake dust was probably as least as large a concern as leaded petrol…

On the other hand, are there not enough blackberries available in hedgerows by less major roads, and wouldn't blackberry picking be more pleasant there?

[lnr]

Personally I'd probably still avoid ones from by major busy roads, as they'll still be unpleasantly polluted. Or at least give them a more thorough wash before use. I wouldn't worry so much about ones by more minor roads, or in my case the ones near the railway.

Seeing how horribly dusty the plant looks is probably the main thing I use as a guide - if it would put me off eating them right there then I don't bother picking them.

[mobbsy]

I'd still avoid them, just from a general feeling that whatever is in the particulate matter from exhausts, eating it probably isn't very good for you.

If you want to go blackberry picking in rural areas of Cambridgeshire, give us a shout, they're often good dog walking places too. (I know of at least one particularly good patch on one of our regular walks). Same goes for sloes, haws and elderberries too, come the season.

[atreic]

I eat roadside blackberries, in that if I am walking along and there is a roadside blackberry that looks tasty, I eat it. This has not killed me yet, but probably isn't doing my life expectancy much good. [On the other hand, my reduced life expectancy has a lot more blackberries in it]

But I don't go blackberrying at roadside blackberry patches - if I was going out to pick a tub full, I'd go somewhere not near the road

[tarchannan]

Thanks for asking - I've been wondering.

Other question is How Far from a busy road a berry should be for there to be less concern...