JKratt - will you answer this question please?

[cherylb]

Dear JKratt...someone gave me a large gift box of Rio Star Texas Fancy ruby red grapefruit for Christmas.  When I looked on the side of the box it said this:

"Coated with food-grade vegetable, petroleum, beeswax and/or shellac-based wax or resin to maintain freshness.  Thiabendazole and/or Imazalil and/or orthophenylphenate used as fungicides."  I was horrified  !!!  However, I just read your post about the fumigation of almonds while in the shell and your additional comment about how even organic products are treated with "natural" whatever...so...knowing that you worked for the USDA for years, I knew you could advise me on these grapefruit.  I looked up each and every one of those materials and of course they're "acceptable" to be used, according to what I read.  Because grapefruit has a thick rind, could one hope that these materials don't penetrate and that the grapefruit would be okay to eat or juice?  Or should I donate this gift to my local landfill?  I use Shaklee Basic H to wash off fruits and vegetables - I know it would wash off surface contamination but probably wouldn't remove the wax.  I'm not eating any of these grapefruits until I read your answer!!   Thanks!

[jkratt]

Hi there Cheryl,

I don't have a lot of time to expound on this, but I'll briefly say what I know, and you can make your own decision.

First, my "expertise" is in soil and crop nutrition, not fungicides, though I have experience with them. Second, I haven't worked for the USDA but for only a brief time at the beginning of my career and that wasn't in the area of crop protectants. My experience is in private farming, consulting, and sales of fertilizer products, respectively, in both organic and non-organic fruit crops.

I wouldn't worry much about the wax, since you don't eat the peel. The fungicides you mentioned are not fungicides that would ever be used in any type of organic production, to my knowledge. Those three fungicides are used in the citrus packing industry to help control mold while in storage. They are all synthetic, and at high doses of ingestion would cause nausea, and at extremely high doses would cause liver, kidney, and reproductive system damage. They are not known carcinogens, I think. The majority of my crop experience is in citrus, grapes, and berries, so I am familiar with this usage. The packing sheds apply these products at very low rates. Compared to the ppm's that persist in the storage shed, I would think you would probably have to eat the peels of about 100 oranges/grapefruit to ingest enough fungicide to do any real harm. What is not entirely known is how much of the compound passes from the peel to the internal fruit. These things are studied by the EPA, the citrus industry, and the chemical manufacturers, to the extent that you can trust their reporting.

In my mind, there are a whole lot of other fruits that are more dangerously applied with synthetic chemicals than citrus fruit. Since being on the AED for about 4 months, I have become very sensitive to just about everything (or, I already was but now I know about it), and while some non-organic produce makes me sick, and almost all non-organic animal products make me sick, I had a few non-organic citrus gift boxes given to me this year and ate them all and felt great doing so.

You are always best served to buy and eat organic produce, for the safety factor (though there can be occasional problems with organic - mostly in e. coli contamination, which can be even more dangerous). Still, organic is your best bet. That being said...

In my opinion, if you are uncomfortable eating it, then give it away to someone needy or to a neighbor or friend, but don't waste good produce by sending it to the dump.

[cherylb]

Thanks so much for responding!!    I think I'll wash the outside well with Basic-H and go ahead and consume them.  I was hoping your answer would be as it was.  I didn't like the thought of having to throw them out or donate something that might not be good for someone else either.  I really appreciate your time and I'm sure your answer has been a benefit for others who read the forums.  Luckily, I live in a town where organic is highly desired by a lot of the residents so we are able to eat 100% organic if we choose to because we have stores that provide it.  So I do and feel fortunate to have the choice.  Thanks again!

[jkratt]

You're welcome. 

[DN Moderator]

Jerel, as always, you bring great things to light here.   Thanks for sharing!