Protecting Your Kids From The Latest Advances in Food Technology

Alas, a new food technology has come on the scene and is awakening the debate about GMO’s. No surprise there.

The newest advance has to do with improvements in global food transport and lengthening the shelf life of produce. Fresh fruits and veggies can now have a longer shelf life due to a special coating that prevents browning. That’s the short version of how the Apeel technology actually works

How Do We Know the Apeel Chemical is Safe to Be On Our Foods?

Although the technology is full of great benefits to the farmer, consumer, and middleman, what is the real cost on our health? The material safety data sheet published on the Apeel chemical is causing me to raise my eyebrows a bit. Specifically the bit about ingestion.

“Significant oral exposure is considered to be unlikely”—since this chemical was originally intended as an Industrial Odour Neutralizer—“May be irritating to the digestive system if swallowed.”

Did anyone stop to think that maybe dipping our produce into it or spraying it onto our fruits just might increase the possibility of ingestion? Maybe this isn’t such a good idea?

And I love the last line there: “No data for health effects associated with long term ingestion.” There is no data on this…yet. Congratulations, though, YOU and your kids get to be the first long-term test subjects!

None of this sounds very “Apeeling” to me.

What’s A Parent To Do?

How am I supposed to respond to these new advances in food technology? It’s impossible to protect our kids from every single known & unknown chemical in their environment. That’s true. You’d have to be living on a deserted island somewhere!

Ways To Protect Our Kids From Food Technology

These are just some ideas and things that we try to do in our home. We don’t always do them perfectly, but every little thing is a step in the right direction.

• Buy organic produce when possible.
• Wash all fruits and veggies before eating.
• Plant a backyard garden. Focus on growing items you eat the most.
• Keep those little immune systems strong through regular, proven-effective detox-helpers. (Probiotics, fiber-rich foods, anti-oxidants, daily exercise, clean water)
• All of the above.

Any other ideas or things that you do in your home? Please comment below.

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