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The adhesives used on fruit stickers are regulated by the FDA as "indirect food-contact substances," says Soo Kim, a spokesperson for the Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Marketing Service. (The ingredients that may be used are outlined in the Code of Federal Regulations part 175.125.) The same rules apply to adhesives for both organic and nonorganic fruit, says Barbara Haumann, a spokesperson for the Organic Trade Association.
So the glue isn't necessarily organic, but could it contain any animal products? It's possible, but unlikely. "Although adhesives made from animal products would not be prohibited, most of those that are specifically approved for this use [on fruit stickers] are not formed from animal products," says Doug Karas, a spokesperson for the FDA.
Karas says that for any food-contact substance to be approved, the FDA considers its composition, the amount a consumer might eat, short- and long-term health effects, and any other safety factors. The FDA then sets a threshold "much lower than what would be expected to have any adverse effect." Still, Karas says, "whether there are labels on fruit and vegetables, we would advise anyone to wash produce before eating it."
Putting stipulations on the most minute details -- such as organic glue -- will end up hurting the organic trade, not helping it. It's already incredibly hard for many farms to meet the standards for USDA organic. Continuing on this path will only push farms out of market. Remember in third grade when your Mom told you to not look for people's flaws, but their good side? It's time to grow up here...+READ
Putting stipulations on the most minute details -- such as organic glue -- will end up hurting the organic trade, not helping it. It's already incredibly hard for many farms to meet the standards for USDA organic. Continuing on this path will only push farms out of market. Remember in third grade when your Mom told you to not look for people's flaws, but their good side? It's time to grow up here as well.-COLLAPSE
Talk about obsessing over minutae....if you wash your fruit, who cares what's stuck on it, or how? Shaking my head, like blitherypoop, in amazing how self-absorbed, over-protective and just plain fearful-over-naught people can get.
Live & eat fearlessly! Because no matter HOW it comes - it IS ALL good! .... & yummmy!
:)
If you're living in such a rarefied organic bubble that you worry about the glue on your fruit....well...I have no words for that. I'll just shake my head and wonder how you'd do if you ever lost your job.
Dunno about the glue but I know one thing...those stickers sure aren't very biodegradable. I have to remember to remove those stickers even if I'm peeling my fruit because otherwise my compost gets littered with them. So annoying and sad! One of my co-ops uses those regular little paper price stickers which break down just fine. What's wrong with using those on all fruit?