Don’t Be Misled When Buying Organic Produce

Introduction

In my last blog, What Does Bioengineered Food Mean?  I reviewed how GMOs are banned from growing and processing organic foods.  Now, there’s a coating approved for organic produce to enhance freshness and extend the shelf-life targeted to organic farmers and distributors.  What does this mean for organic produce?

After reading this blog post, if you want to eat organic produce that hasn’t been engineered with unnecessary ingredients you’ll know what to look for and how to avoid it.

All food has a shelf-life whether it’s preserved with chemicals or naturally occurring.  Shelf life refers to the length of time the food remains safe to eat and the quality of the food.

A company called Apeel has launched the expansion of some fruits and vegetables’ shelf life into the marketplace. The company is based out of California, founded in 2012, and owned by James Rogers with grant money initially from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Essentially, there’s a coating applied to fruits and vegetables that reduces the rate at which the food spoils by slowing the oxidation to decrease waste and plastic packaging.  Sounds great, doesn’t it?  Until you look a bit deeper.

To peel or not to peel?

Certain fruits and vegetables need to be peeled before eating like bananas, avocados, and oranges.  Others like apples, grapes, and cucumbers don’t require peeling before eating.  In fact, most of the nutrients and fiber are found in the skin of produce.  More about which peels are safe to eat and which are not.

Ingredients of Apeel 

The ingredients for the coating are compounded as a mixture of food-grade glycerolipids made from edible plant oils, which meet the requirements for GRAS (generally recognized as safe).

A mixture of mono- and diacylglycerides derived from grape seed, or “MDAG” contains glycerol, heptane, palladium, arsenic, lead, cadmium, and mercury.  Yum!!   All are considered safe according to the company, Apeel Sciences.

Mono- and diglycerides do contain a small amount of trans fat.   But, because they’re classed as emulsifiers and not lipids, the ban from the FDA doesn’t apply.  This is a sneaky way to get around the trans-fat ban from the FDA.  However, according to Apeel, the labels are tested to confirm the absence of trans fats. Hmmm…

Any allergens in the coating?

According to the product information sheet, the coating doesn’t contain any of the eight major allergens (milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, or soy) and is not derived from genetically engineered plant material.

Pro tip:  The product (coating of Apeel) requires the use of training before the application due to the special mixing so not just anyone can apply the coating. The question is, who will be applying the coating and how will they be trained?

Apeel is organically approved

This coating is approved and targeted for use on organic produce.  For a product to be classified as certified organic, it must follow certain requirements.  One of which requires the soil not to use synthetic fertilizers and pesticides unless approved by the USDA.  Understanding the organic label. 

I don’t know about you, but I prefer my organic produce to remain free of any additional coatings, especially ones that can’t be washed off.  The specialized coating forms a semipermeable barrier of the skin or peel of the fruit or vegetable making it very difficult to wash or scrub off.

Foods for the Apeel label

Currently, the foods that are affected by the coating are English cucumbers in Canada; and avocados, limes, and apples in the U.S. with more than twenty-four types to come.

From the GRAS Notice GRN 866: For foods that will be peeled or removed such as limes, the ingredients are not expected to transfer to the edible portion. If the ingredients are considered safe, does it matter if it reachs the edible portion?

Testing: According to Apeel Sciences, 12 humans were studied for 3-12 months on the use of the ingredients for safety, and no adverse effects were found.  You can draw your conclusions.

Fresh look vs nutrients

With the Apeel label preserving the hydration of fruits and vegetables and giving the appearance of freshness, it doesn’t answer how nutritious and healthy the food is.   Do we need more chemicals on our fruits and vegetables just to keep them longer?  

Conclusion

If you prefer to eat fresh (without a coating) produce, look for the Apeel label and avoid it.

Find a local farmer who isn’t going to use the label and remains true to organic standards.

There are many reasons to buy locally, but this new label approval ranks high on the list.

In optimal health,

Lisa