name of a purple chemical used by the French to put in water to wash vegetables like lettuce?

Question

while in Africa I learned that the French medics recommend the use of something that turns the water purple but then is used to purify vegetables before eating. I am looking for the mane of this product.

Answer 1

This is the chemical, it seems to be quite poisonous, I did not know that, we used to purify our vegetables for years with this component that was called Kali or something similar. The real name is Potassium Permanganate:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potassium_permanganate

Answer 2

I don't know the exact product you are referring to, but when I was in Mexico City I had a solution I bought at Wal-Mart that I used to disinfect vegetables. You don't actually use it to wash the vegetables, but instead you soak them in a mixture of this solution and water. As I recall, the solution I bought contained silver as a disinfectant, and it was kind of brown in appearance. It seemed to me that it was kind of a generic brand. So similar solutions are probably available under many brand names. Hopefully it will be available for sale in the area where you need it.