index(hide)(to show)
The shocking practice of spraying chemicals on fresh produce, including organic, at a large health food chain. Bottles of toxic chemicals are conveniently hidden from consumers' eyes!
Have you ever noticed water splashing or spraying on fresh produce while shopping at a health food store?
If you're like me, you probably thought it was just water to keep produce moist to keep it fresh.
It turns out that this assumption is very wrong!
A consumer recently posted a series of photos on social media showing a highly toxic product being used to spray crops at a Sprouts Farmers Market store.
If you haven't heard of it before, Sprouts is a large chain of health food stores based in Arizona. The company has 35,000 employees and operates about 400 stores in 23 states.
Naturally, I was shocked to see these photos and decided to investigate the situation for myself. I have a sprout within a few miles of my house.
I don't typically shop there, but stopped by anyway to confirm or disprove what the social media posts were claiming.
What I found was 100% consistent with what I saw on social media. 🤯
On the plus side, buying produce from independently owned and operated health food stores, local farms, and farmers markets gave me another reason to make it worth every minute of inconvenience and slightly more extra money!
Toxic antibacterial agents contained in agricultural products
What exactly is that spray bottle hidden on top of the organic produce at the Sprout store?
It's called Sterilox. Here's a close-up photo I took that matches the viral social media post:
What exactly is in this thing?
Simply put, Sterilox is a disinfectant approved by the FDA in 2007 for use as a food-safe disinfectant used to rehydrate or rinse fresh produce, including leafy green vegetables. (One)
The Sterilox system uses salt, water and electricity to generate food-safe disinfectants on-site and on-demand and is currently used in thousands of retail supermarkets across the U.S., the company said. (2)
In 2007 we only used salt, water and electricity, but now Sterilox seems quite different!
Chemstar, the company that manufactures Sterilox, has a background of jars of organic produce on its website. (three)
The Sterilox at Sprouts where I took the photo was right above the organic produce section.
And yes, it is. This substance is allowed to be sprayed on organic matter! (4)
The safety data sheet for Sterilox Produce Maxx is as follows: (5)
Doesn't seem very safe or “organic”?
Hypochlorous acid water and 6000ppm free available chlorine (FAC)?
By comparison, only 4 ppm of chlorine in drinking water is considered safe, and it's not even safe to drink it! (6)
Consider that the antibacterial agent you spray on fresh produce contains 1500 times that amount of chlorine. Of course, you dilute the product with tap water before spraying it, but the amount of chlorine left in the product itself is not only astronomical, but it is not safe in any way!
fresh cut fruit
If you thought spraying your fresh produce with antibacterial agents was a problem, here's some really bad news.
Sterilox (or Aqualox or Aquatine…same, just different names) is also sprayed directly on fresh-cut fruits and vegetables sold in containers.
Believe it or not, restaurants often use them to give salad bar vegetables a crunchy texture.
Have you ever opened a container of freshly cut organic produce at a health food store and washed it before eating?
I know I didn't.
This is from the company's website about using Sterilox on fresh cut fruit. (7, 8)
To keep up with time-starved consumers, fresh-cut fruits and vegetables have become a high-value signature category in the produce sector. Rinse fresh cut fruits and vegetables in cold water. Produce Max (Sterilox) Extends product shelf life by reducing non-public health bacteria that cause spoilage while preventing cross-contamination.
Key economic benefits for consumers and retailers include:
- Prevent cross-contamination when rinsing cut fruit with the same process water.
- Reduce non-public health bacteria that cause spoilage and product failure for better quality.
- Fuzz reduction allows retailers to extend code dates.
- All these benefits can be enjoyed without any sensory impact on the product.
This is a screen capture in case the page disappears from your company.
Therefore, “It’s no big deal. You might be thinking, “I can just wash the Sterilox off my fresh produce before eating it,” but when it comes to fresh-cut produce, it’s a whole other story. Isn't that right?
Convenience always seems to come at a price, right?
Is it just me, or do we seem to get addicted to chemicals everywhere, no matter how hard we try to avoid them?
Have your friends cut their own organic fruits and vegetables!
What about other health food stores?
I've never found a bottle of Sterilox at Whole Foods or Trader Joe's, but those companies are certainly making the same or similar products available in their produce as well. (9)
My advice is to only shop at locally owned health food stores so you can talk to the managers directly and make sure your produce hasn't been sprayed with antibacterial products.
Another good option is to buy produce directly from a real farmer's market (not a fake one like Sprout) or a local farm.
Big corporate chains cut corners so your health isn't their primary concern. The profit is.
References
(1, 2) FDA approves Sterilox food safety solutions for food contact
(3, 8) Sterilox Produce Maxx (scroll down for fresh fruit)
(4, 9) Buyer Beware: In our production department, things may not be as they seem!
(5) Sterilox Produce Maxx Safety Data Sheet
(6) Water disinfection using chlorine and chloramine
(7) Chemstar Sterilox Fresh Solution
