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Buy unwaxed fruit to avoid consuming produce coated with paraffin, a substance that originates from eco-unfriendly petroleum refineries.

How to buy unwaxed fruit

1. Pick the dull one. An apple, for example, picked fresh from a tree in your backyard or grown, distributed, and sold on a regional scale is not as likely to be coated with wax. The function of US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved food-grade waxes—aside from making an apple sleek and shiny and, in turn, more saleable—is to act as a preservative, keeping its freshness intact during the often epic journey from producer to grocer to consumer. Although not as lustrous, an apple grown locally, especially one sold at a farmers’ market or greenmarket, doesn't require such additives since its time spent in-transit is shorter (and thus more eco-friendly). Organic produce (see Organic produce and wax below) is also less likely to be waxed.
2. Supermarket scraping. Supermarkets in the United States are required to alert shoppers when produce has been waxed with appropriate labeling and signage.
3. Wax on, Wax off. Don’t assume that only the glossy produce is coated (little known fact: not all food-grade wax is shiny). Run your fingernail against the skin to see if anything can be scraped off. Be considerate to other customers and practice produce-aisle etiquette—try not to manhandle and vigorously scrape test fruit. And if possible, find out what kind of wax has been applied to the fruit. Vegetable-based coatings, for example, are more environmentally sound than petroleum-based ones. If you have access to locally grown produce or a backyard orchard, a simple way to avoid fruit wax—and any lingering pesticide residues that may be locked underneath—is to remove the skin by hand or with a fruit peeler or scrub the fruit with water and natural dishwashing soap or a special fruit and vegetable wash. Although the wax itself is not known to have any negative effects on human health, many consumers prefer that their produce remain additive-free.

Did you know?

Scientists are now working on edible food coatings for fresh fruits and veggies. Made of substances like whey protein isolate with nanotechnology, these coatings are said to cut packaging waste and keep food fresher, for longer.[1] The concern? Though there's been billions spent on researching food applications for nanotechnology, only 1 to 4 percent of those funds have gone toward studying the health and environmental effects of these concoctions. The long-term effects of these sci-fi food options should be watched with interest.[2]

Buying unwaxed fruit helps you go green because…

• Food-grade wax may be deemed safe for human consumption by the FDA, but it's unsafe for the environment. Petroleum-based wax is processed at oil refineries where pollutants are released into the air and water.
• Unwaxed fruit is often locally grown and distributed and, in turn, hasn't undergone the fossil fuel-intensive, greenhouse gas-emitting trek that fruit coming from afar makes.

Food-grade wax is applied to fruits, such as apples, melons, grapefruit, and peaches, to not only give it an appealing post-harvest glow but to keep it fresh by insulating moisture while it travels from grower to grocer to consumers' homes. It also helps prevent bruising and other physical damage, curbs mold growth, and fends off contaminants.[3][4]

Many fruits, most noticeably apples, produce their own natural, waxy protective layer. However, this coating is typically removed during the post-harvest cleaning process and replaced with an artificial one.[5] FDA-approved food-grade waxes are made from various sources, some of them animal-based. It’s mandatory that supermarkets and other retailers notify consumers of waxed produce by posting signage with lettering at least one-fourth inches that reads: “Coated with food grade vegetable-, petroleum-, beeswax-, and or/shellac-based wax or resin.” Boxes of waxed produce also must be appropriately labeled.[6]

Fruit coated with petroleum-derived paraffin wax⎯the same substance commonly used for candle wax⎯is produced at oil refineries, a major contributor to pollution. In 1997, over 100 million tons of toxic chemicals were produced by refineries and then released into the environment or moved to a treatment facility.[7] A typical oil refinery releases over 10,000 gallons of oil waste into land, air, and water on a daily basis.[8] This includes emissions of climate-changing greenhouse gases such as sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, chlorine, and benzene.[9][10]

Organic produce and wax

Most organic produce is not waxed. However, organic citrus fruits and, in the winter, organic cucumbers (and occasionally organic apples) are sometimes waxed. Organic certified waxes cannot be synthetic and are generally carnauba or wood rosin-based. Wax is applied to organic produce for the same reasons that it's applied to conventional produce: to keep it fresh as it travels from producer to consumer and for cosmetic enhancement.[6]

Related health issues

The digestion of FDA-regulated food-grade wax doesn’t pose any known health risks to humans, and the actual amount of wax applied to a piece of fruit is miniscule.[5] Even so, some organic certifiers rule that wax must be applied to only the non-edible parts of the fruit with the exception of citrus.[11]

There is consumer concern about exposure to pesticide residues trapped between the wax coating and the fruit skin. However, the FDA maintains that pesticide residue consumption is minute and doesn't pose health risks.[12] On the other hand, a report by Pesticide Action Network North America found that American consumers are exposed to toxic chemicals known as persistent organic pollutants (POPs) as many as 70 times a day. POP exposure has been associated with immune system suppression, nervous and hormonal system disorders, reproductive system damage, and various cancers, including breast cancer. Three fruits frequently contaminated by POPs are cantaloupe, winter squash, and summer squash. The two leading POPs found in food are dieldrin and DDE.[13]

Food-grade waxes found on fruit have been also known to cause allergic reactions.[14]

Glossary

• carnauba: Carnauba wax (or Brazil wax or ceara wax) is a natural wax derived from the fronds of Brazil’s carnauba tree and is primarily used as a polish for food and for hardening and gelling other products.[15]
• wood rosin: A resin collected from the stumps of pine trees and used in assorted products such as chewing gum, adhesives, printing ink, and various varnishes and polishes.[16]
• persistent organic pollutants: POPs are toxic chemicals that were, and in some instances still are, used in agriculture for pest and disease control and crop production, as well as in manufacturing. Although many POPs have been banned, they remain in the environment and global food chain, easily traveling via wind and water.[17]
• dieldrin: An insecticide, widely used on crops from 1950 to 1970. It was used to control termites until 1987, when the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) banned all uses. Exposure to dieldrin occurs through eating contaminated foods such as fish, root crops, and dairy products. Build up of dieldrin in the human body can lead to nervous system disorders.[18]
• DDE: A breakdown product of once-common pesticide DDT which has been banned in the US since 1972 but still enters the environment through use in other countries where it isn't banned. Human exposure comes from eating contaminated leafy and root vegetables and fatty meat, poultry, and fish. Studies show that women with high amounts of DDE in their breast milk are unable to breast feed as long as women with low levels of DDE and are at increased risk of giving birth prematurely.[19]

External links

• The Daily Table
• The National Agriculture Library