I saw a quick flash of this on the web and personally wanted to know the answer! Why were American Apples Banned in Europe? Since I grew up in Washington, the apple state, it kinda hit home. Why would our apples not be “good enough” to sell overseas?? Especially the apples I grew up eating, juicing, and cooking. As you can image, this was due to chemicals.
Why were American Apples Banned in Europe?
It all started back in 2008 when Europe became concerned with the use of DPA, diphenylamine. This chemical prevents apples from getting brown spots call “storage scald.” Normally, apples get these when they are stored for long periods of time. The chemical DPA hasn’t been proven to be harmful, but when mixed with other chemicals
it can create a toxin know as, nitrosamines. These create carcinogens which have been linked to diseases such as cancer. Due to these concerns, the European government wanted more information on DPA.
Environmental Working Group shows in an important new report. (The EFSA was concerned that DPA could decay into nitrosamines under contact with nitrogen, a ubiquitous element, EWG notes.) Unsatisfied with the response, the EFSA banned use of DPA on apples in 2012. And in March, the agency then slashed the tolerable level of DPA on imported apples to 0.1 parts per million, EWG reports (source).
So what the big deal right!? Well it turns out that the last study done on American apples was back in 2010. During that time, 80% of the apples tested had traces of DPA. The average reading was .442 ppm, which is almost 4 times the limit in Europe. What does the U.S. have to say about these toxic apples??? Frankly that don’t give a D&^% since our legal limit is 10 ppms which is 100 times greater then Europe.
Is DPA creating a real risk to Americans?? No one seems to REALLY know, including our own food safety authorities. Just to be safe, we all might consider the organic version until the government can catch up 😉
Chemical Free
Adria
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