A health expert has issued a stark warning to supermarket customers after revealing a little-known fact about apples.
Steve Bennett (@stevebennettmhp) regularly takes to TikTok to issue consumer advice and ways to promote a healthier living. His latest video left his followers with some food for thought, many of whom admitted their shock at his fruity revelation.
“When you buy your apples, don’t buy them in a bag like this,” Steve instructed as he held up an example. “When they look like this they look almost identical,” he continued before making a shocking claim.
He continued: “They could have been stored for up to 14 months in an oxygen-free warehouse, waiting for all the colours to be identical before they pack them.” Steve explained the reasoning behind the method: “It’s because we’ve become so obsessed these days with the way they look – they wil look the same because that’s what consumers want.”
“But that’s nonsense because they could be 14 months old,” Steve said.
“Always buy your apples individual where you can,” he said. “And if you can, even better still, get organic. If you can’t get organic, do wash them because they are on the government’s dirty dozen list.”
Steve closed, explaining that this list contains some of the “highest concentrations” of “forever chemicals” known as PFAS [per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances]. The apples are often doused in anti-fungal ingredients to prevent them from going bad while in storage. “Always go organic where you can, and always go loose.”
One of Steve’s followers admitted: “Just kept an apple from January to this weekend in September 24 just to prove to myself there’s a problem.” A second person added: “Me and my dog got food poisoning from bagged apples and I did wash it. My dog only got the flesh and not the skin.”
“I always wash them with Fairy,” wrote a third TikTok user willing to follow Steve’s advice. “But thanks for the point. I will buy them individually.” Whilst a fourth pondered: “Is this why apples don’t taste of anything anymore?”
Others, however, dismissed Steve’s caution, with one person exclaiming: “What’s wrong with them being 14 months old? They are cheaper. That’s all I care about. And they are not poisonous.” And a second person agreed: “There is nothing wrong with storing apples or any other fruit and vegetables for months this is how we feed people.”
According to the Pesticide Action Network UK (PAN UK), analysis of the the UK government’s residue testing programme identified 10 different PFAS pesticides in fruits and vegetables including grapes, cherries, spinach and indeed, apples.
The web site adds: “Strawberries were found to be the worst offenders, with 95% of the 120 samples tested by the government in 2022 containing PFAS pesticides. PFAS have been branded as ‘forever chemicals’ because of their ability to persist in the environment. They can accumulate in the blood, bones and tissue of living organisms, including humans.”