Saving Dinner
by Leanne Ely, Certified Nutrition Counselor

Dinner Diva: Wax On... Wax Off! What Are They Putting on Our Fruits and Veggies?

By: Leanne Ely

I saw some videos online recently that stopped me in my tracks. They featured people in their kitchens peeling a plastic sort of film off of their lettuce.

Now, I've also seen a video that has shown this coating is actually completely natural but it did make me curious enough to do a bit more digging about coatings on our foods.

A lot of research suggests there's an edible plastic coating being used by food companies to keep produce "fresh" for longer.

The scary part is that this applies to conventional and organically grown fruits and vegetables.

Now, back in the old days, it was not uncommon for fruit to be coated in a thin layer of wax to help preserve it. That seems to be happening again today, but with chemicals and scientific compounds.

This is a little concerning to me as it should be to you.

Do a Google search for "modified atmosphere packaging" and your eyes will be opened up to all kinds of terrible information surrounding the way our food is presented to us in the grocery stores.

You know, these coatings on our foods can have pig, cow and even chicken collagen in them.

It seems that scientists are proud of these "smart" and "edible" coatings that help to improve shelf life of our fruits and veggies. Seriously folks, what kind of fools do they take us for?

We should all be outraged, really. No, these coatings might not kill us, but I don't know about you... I would rather not have any sort of chemical coming between me and the food I put into my mouth. And come to think of it, all of this might help explain why we've heard of more food poisoning incidents stemming from foods like spinach in the past few years.

This "technology" is being used on those "convenient" peeled carrot and celery sticks you buy for your kids' lunches. It's used in prepared salads, broccoli, beans and who knows what else!

The only real way to avoid these coatings is to grow our own food or to buy from a local farmer who you know and trust.

Oh it makes me so mad when we think we're doing good things to feed our families and ourselves with nutritious foods!

Love,
Leanne Ely
Your Dinner Diva at your service at www.savingdinner.com

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