There Are Hidden Dangers Lurking in Your Produce

Please close your eyes for a moment. Picture the produce section of your grocery store. It's probably bright, shiny, cheery and colorful.

The folks who set it up every morning make it as attractive as possible. They know the better it appears visually, the more likely you'll choose to place some of those fruits and vegetables in your cart.

Fresh produce lends itself to an alluring display. From the red of tomatoes and apples to the orange of carrots and peppers. From the green of lettuce and grapes to the yellow of lemons and bananas.

Just picturing the vegetables and fruits you enjoy most might be whetting your appetite as you read this.

Exposing the Dirty Secrets

I hate to burst this dreamy bubble, but all may not be as it seems. In many grocery store produce sections there are some dirty secrets you're not supposed to know.

Today I want to tell you about some of them. Not for the purpose of getting you to stop buying fruits and vegetables. After all, we frequently preach about how good they are for you.

Rather, my goal is to clue you in on some hidden things about produce you may not know. And put you in a position to make wise purchasing decisions.

Don't worry. There are still plenty of ways to get healthy, nutritious vegetables and fruits. Including growing some of your own.

How Do You Like Those (Old) Apples?

When you grab a bag of apples from the produce aisle, do you think about how recently they were picked?

If so, maybe you assume it was within the last few weeks. Or at least no longer than a month ago. 

But the fact is, those apples could be a year old. Farmers sometimes "put apples to sleep" in controlled atmosphere storage.

They regulate oxygen, carbon dioxide and nitrogen levels. As well as temperature and humidity. Farmers will tell you there is little to no difference in the taste of a fresh apple to one that's been treated this way.

Other Produce Has Been Around the Block

And it's not only apples that have their first birthday party before you get to eat them. Potatoes are sometimes stored for up to a year in a temperature-controlled environment before finding their way to a grocery store. 

Carrots are stored in a zero-degree, high-humidity environment for nine months to prevent decay. Then they get a chlorine bath before being shipped to market.

Tomatoes are stored in a low-oxygen, high-nitrogen environment for six weeks before they're available for purchase. 

Lettuce is often held in cold storage for up to a month. Bananas are cooled for a couple weeks and then treated with ethylene gas.

'Tossed' in Salads & Soups

Now, few people will buy fruits and vegetables that look bad. But they might eat them unwittingly. 

That's because some grocery stores use old produce in their prepared deli soups and salads. 

You might consider old produce unfit for purchase. But storeowners don't see them as unfit for selling. And you may not know the difference.

If that produce has been stored at below 41 degrees Fahrenheit, you're probably OK. But if not, your digestive system might have some issues after you consume them.

Is Your Produce Bugging Out?

A lack of freshness is not the only downside when it comes to consuming fruits and vegetables.

You might find spiders crawling around your bananas and grapes when you grab them from shelves.     

While that may seem a little creepy – and you definitely want to thoroughly wash off your grapes when you get home – this isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Spiders are known for getting rid of other bugs that infest grapes and bananas. One arachnids expert said crops would be consumed by pests if it weren't for spiders. 

Additional Issues 

What other dangers are lurking in the produce section? Here are a few:

• Automated misters can keep produce from getting dehydrated. But they also add weight, which will cost you at checkout. And the moisture could cause mold to form.

• Pre-cut and packaged produce adds to your cost. It also means it might have been exposed to food's enemies. Like light, oxygen, heat and bacteria.

• Organic produce also costs more, which is expected. But it doesn't stay organic when it's allowed to co-mingle with non-organic produce.

• Clean-looking produce is not necessarily clean. You might not see ground-in dirt, so wash everything thoroughly before you eat it. 

• Wax-coated produce is visibly appealing. But humans don't digest wax. If you buy wax-treated produce, peel it before consuming.

•  Store employees and other customers don't always follow health policies. Examine your produce carefully before buying. And again, wash it completely before eating.

2 Victory Garden Seed Collections for the Price of One

National Garden Week began yesterday. We want to mark the occasion by encouraging you to grow and eat your own food.

Your best bet is to acquire a great variety of non-GMO seeds passed down from our forefathers.

And to make this especially appealing to you, you get two Victory Garden Seed Collections for the price of one. 

That means between approximately 15,000 to 20,000 seeds from five popular varieties (tomatoes, carrots, lettuce, beets and zucchini). For one low price.

And you can plant the seeds from your crops next year, so you never have to buy seeds again. 

Here's how to get your free Survival Seeds