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Type 2 Supermarket fruit/veg stored for 12 months

JSG207

Member
Messages
19
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
In The Daily Mail last week, they ran a story regarding supermarkets that stored fruit and veg for up to one year before putting them on the sale. Fruit and veg are exposed to a chemical called SmartFresh -"SmartFresh works using a sugar-based powder containing the active ingredient 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP). This is mixed with tap water, releasing the chemical into the air inside the sealed, chilled warehouse or container."

Just wondering how other diabetics felt about this practice. Should there be stickers indicating the sugar-based coating? Should there be independent nutritional tests done to see what happens to the produce after a year in this chemical?
 
That's why we always wash our fruit and veggies when we buy from the shops. It will get rid of most of the rubbish / pesticides that gets sprayed on.

Also it helps to safeguard the unhygienic habits of shop assistants not washing their hands after using the toilets.
 

I totally agree and do the same, but I cannot help thinking how much of that chemical would seep into the produce through the skin. Leafy veg, which I eat a lot of, like cabbage and broccoli, surely would absorb some of it, especially being subjected to the chemical every day after a year. I really do believe there should be an investigation especially regarding the effects the process has on diabetics
 
Whaaaaat! Had no idea. Tell me more....washing will start from today


Sent from my iPad using DCUK Forum
 
Best by from local fruit and veg shops when possible as has been said washing may not remove all of the chemicals and other stuff that has been absorbed.,
 
Interesting info, so I just googled to see what's out there by way of explanation. Sorry,but I regard the Daily Mail as one of those scaremongering and scandal hungy papers, so always want another opinion.

Having said that, I always wash fruit & veg anyway, even if it comes in plastic-covered trays, because of possible pesticides and hygiene of handlers & any other stuff that gets in contect with the produce. The only thing I don't wash anymore is chicken, which recent advice says not to wash before cooking.

The SmartFresh site says much the same as the article, but it includes at the end:
" The active ingredient biodegrades naturally and there is no SmartFresh present anymore when the application is
completed. The whole process takes less than 24 hours. "

This needs a lot more looking into methinks ....
 
Agreed, Daily Mail is clickbait headline territory now, but nevertheless alerted me to this info.

Also agree this needs further observation. Can Diabetes UK take the lead I wonder?
 
JohnEGreen said:
Best by from local fruit and veg shops when possible as has been said washing may not remove all of the chemicals and other stuff that has been absorbed.,
Click to expand...
Thats what I was thinking
 
JSG207 said:
Should there be stickers indicating the sugar-based coating?
Click to expand...

Makes sense that the treated food should be labelled as such, but with the worlds population growing we have to accept that this sort of technology isn't likely to go away.
 
,nuts are chemically treated to stop from going off, I cannot eat Brazil nuts as the chemical cause breathing problems, and I believe this is why every other person seems to have a peanut or nut allergy (ok I know peanuts aren't technically nuts but they are treated the same)
How many people had even heard of a peanut allergy years ago, it's the chemicals
 
...now that would explain a lot. I like nuts but they taste of nothing and I could be eating cat litter. Last year I was given a present of freshly picked walnuts. At the time, I thought so what but the consistency and taste was unlike anything I had ever eaten before, so I'm guessing nuts must be stored for a long time with their chemical treatment too
 
JSG207 said:
I have no idea, I wish we could get to the truth
Click to expand...
According to the Wikipedia page, there is no way to detect it that isn't abominably expensive, and that in the US at least it is allowed for use with Organic Products. The UK Soil Association documents suggest it shouldn't be but don't mention it.

If you are bothered, go to a farmers market where they only sell seasonally.
 
JohnEGreen said:
Best by from local fruit and veg shops when possible as has been said washing may not remove all of the chemicals and other stuff that has been absorbed.,
Click to expand...

I would caution that you usually don't know where the local fruit and veg shops get their produce.

We have a very good local shop. They go to Smithfield Market early every morning to get produce which is as fresh as possible direct from the wholesalers and importers.

If you buy any out of season vegetables and a lot of supposedly in season vegetables they will have come from abroad and/or a storage facility.

As far as I know we don't produce a lot of our own food for most of the year.

https://www.vegsoc.org/sslpage.aspx?pid=525

gives a list of which fruits and vegetables are in season for the UK each month. If your fruit and vegetables are not on that list for the current month you can guess that they have come from abroad. Even if they are on the list you still don't know that they are fresh this season even if UK branded.

Unless you know the supplier and the farms the produce comes from AND that the produce is always field to plate in the shortest possible time then wherever you buy you are at the mercy of big agriculture.
 
You don't have to tell me about the joy of shopping at markets....We relocate our office to France every summer, in a very rural area, and only due to blinding fast internet.... so its a trip to the market every day to buy our veg and fruit .... and.... my blood sugar levels go down by 50%. I'm not changing the style of eating (basically salads and protein), I'm not doing any further exercise as we continue to work due to the joy of internet.
 
Having just had a further read of the Soil Association Organic Rulebook, there appears to be no mention of SmartFresh being an allowable additive in their documentation, so if a product is certified Soil Association Organic, then it shouldn't be SmartFreshed.
 
Personally, I don't have a major issue with something that extends the life of produce and reduces waste - particularly if (as claimed) it leaves no residue and would much rather that than GM food
 
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