Un-Vegan Apples
Posted by wildeyerotgut on Oct 20, 2009 · Member since Jun 2009 · 45 posts
Didn't really know where to post this.
Just letting everyone know that - astoundingly- not all apples are vegan.
They are sometimes coated in beeswax and/or gelatine to make them appear glossy.
An easy way to tell is the lightly scratch the skin with a butter knife. If white, flakey powder comes off it is more than likely not vegan.
Because beeswax is organic, they can put it on organic apples as well.
This means that apple juices, ciders and drinks may also not be vegan.
Bummer, I know.
Just thought I should let everyone know.
vhz found beeswax-coated fruit at Trader Joe's a few years ago. It made me a lot >:( and a bit :(.
I doubt the wax would be in commercially available juices, because the wax is there to make them look pretty, and nobody really sees the apples before they are made into juice.
I hate produce wax. I think they put it on other pieces of fruit too.
I thought to so too, but my friend contacted a brewery to ask if their cider was made from apples that were waxed, and they said that some of their suppliers did wax their apples.
That is so lame.
Anything with a firm peel, such as zucchini, cucumber etc may be waxed or oiled. Yergh. Even oil...it's like why? If it's fresh it doesn't need that...oh, scuse me. That must be it.
I decided a long time ago that I was doing more good by trying to eat organic than harm by eating some beeswax. Just think of all the gross runoff from non-organic farms, and the energy used in making pesticides, etc., not to mention the trace amounts you eat...
Everyone has to make their own choices, however.
this bums me out too! A lot of stores will put up notices but all it says is that the product may or may not be coated with "food grade wax". It isn't too specific and although I disagree with it and it freaks me out a little bit, I've made the decision not to be concerned because, unfortunately, it's what makes the most sense in my life.
Choices, choices.
Yeah... Some people woudn't buy non-glossy apples, because they just don't look nice and delicious...
Marketing ... :(
People should change their mind about what's natural and what's not! Beautiful and unhealthy-looking.
Natural is beauty!
Plus, the touch of these oily fruits isn't nice at all.
At least part of the motivation is to make the produce last longer, since much food in the stores is not produced even close to locally. Instead, it is coated in wax to prevent spoiling--most of us are used to produce lasting for days or weeks in the fridge, largely a product of waxing. I suppose it seals in the moisture and seals out oxygen?
This is true. I had once apples that lasted more than three weeks.
I found it really disturbing...
That's why I go to the orchard and pick my apples.
Zucchini already has a waxy coating on it if I remember correctly. I grew zucchini in my garden this year and I thought that it had a waxy feel to it right out of the garden. No, I did not put wax on my home-grown veggies! That is just the way zucchini is.
I hate the way they always try to make fruits and veggies so pretty. When I went to the apple orchard they wern't all pretty and shiny but they sure tasted good to me. Why the deer didn't get in there to eat all the apples beats me.
cucumbers always seem to have wax on them as well
Apples can last surprisingly long... I buy fresh apples at the farmer's market in my town; organic, unwaxed and unoiled. In my fridge, they've lasted a little over two weeks before. Of course, they're not fresh enough that I would eat them then, because I'm super picky about my apples... it has to be cold, and super crisp for me to eat it. After a week or so in the frige they get kinda soft, but not fermentedy, so I use them in pies or crisps or applesauce.
But yeah. Waxing and oiling veggies is boo. :(