The Editors of _ENVIRONMENTAL NUTRITION_ are warning the public that the shiny
gloss on their apples, cucumbers, and bell peppars from the grocery store
may look yummy, but may be causing health problems.

The waxt substance the growers spray on is intended to prevent shriveling
by keeping osmotic evaporation down, but it also traps the fungicides
used perviously next to the food and prevents it from being washed away.

The EPA is reviewing the safety of the practice, but meanwhile EN suggests
that you peel waxed produce whenever possible. (The wax doesn't wash off.)

21 responses total.

Oops indeed.  I went grocery shopping at the beautiful new Busch's
supermarket on Greene Road yesterday.  One of the things that enticed
me to buy all those fruits and vegetables was the attractive shiny
gloss.

"Peel waxed produce"?  Dang, that's a lot of work.  How does the risk
of seriously cutting myself with the knife compare to "may be causing
health problems"?  Maybe I'll stick with homegrown produce, if possible.

It really upsets me that they've started waxing green bell peppers
now.  How the hell are you supposed to peel bell peppers?  One
of the reasons I buy expensive plastic-wrapped English cucumbers
is that they are unwaxed.  I also sometimes buy pickling
cucumbers, which are also unwaxed.

 it seems to me that the wax could be removed with a hot water dip for 
55-10 seconds. 

That's 45 seconds total, for the integer-impaired ...... <g>
  
arabella, is the plastic less harmful than the wax?
  

You can buy organic produce, if it makes you feel better.  Try Arbor Farms
on Stadium at Liberty.

        or the People's Food Co-op at Packard near State or on Fourth
near Ann.

  I meant 5 or 10 secs. But you knew that already.

Which would result in a   -5 second time .....  <drift = OFF>

TS, I don't have to *eat* the plastic.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooh, ok. <g>

How can you tell if a fruit has been waxed?  Anything that's shiny?

Pretty much.  Anything that looks unnaturally shiny, or sort of polished,
is probably waxed.

The People's Food Coop goes out of their way to avoid buying waxed
fruits and vegetables to sell.  Definitely worth checking out!

Another clue is that waxed foods tend to feel a bit "sticky" when you
hold them--body heat melts a bit of the wax, you see.

What about those cans of waxed beans? I like em.

  that's WAX beans, you bonehead. ;)  And speaking about them, how DID they
get that name....probably from the taste. (I am not a fan of beans of any
kind.)

Oh, no "ed" on those beans ... 

Yeah, and Egyptian Paper Wasps aren't really journalists, either.

I just read somewhere that you are supposed to wash hard skinned fruit and
veggies with warm (not cold) water and soap and scrub them gently. Now. spft
skinned items like tomatoes, you takes your chances.  I am too busy worrying
about the depletion of the ozone layer to worry about ingestion of wax,
however.

But what if you don't want to eat the bananna peel?

<groan>

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