Apeel: Trustworthy or Toxic?

This produce coating is touted as decreasing food waste…what is it really doing?

Apeel is a coating supposedly intended to slow down rot/preserve food. Of course the company touts the environmental benefits it’s encouraging by decreasing food waste. The company also uses the idea of fighting world hunger.

Naturally, Apeel paints the product as wonderful. It’s marketed as “protected by Apeel.” But is it wonderful or dangerous? Or a combination? To be frank, I’m not totally sure. But I have some real reservations about it.

Apeel first came on my radar via this video from Dr. Jane Ruby. After watching that video, I decided to dig into this a little more.

I’m not an expert on the topic, but here are some things to think about. Hopefully this post will encourage you to do more research on this topic on your own. Please feel free to share any additional info or resources in the comments!

Bill Gates is allegedly neither directly involved, nor an investor. I wouldn’t be surprised if there are sneaky ways around that though (but I don’t know). However, the Apeel project (I believe the actual coating is called Edipeel) has received grants from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. If Mr. Population Control (Bill Gates) has supported something, it makes sense to tread cautiously.

Apeel is also a member of the World Economic Forum. Another yellow (or red) flag.

The Apeel website has a dedicated ESG section. I realize that’s a big thing with a lot of these big corporations. However, an ESG page does not increase my trust of (or desire to support) a company.

Riddle me this: why is Apeel so concerned with food waste, when they could encourage you to compost? And wouldn’t it be more environmentally friendly, and more effective in curbing world hunger to encourage local produce production? And if Apeel keeps the produce from breaking down before you eat it, could that affect how your body digests (or doesn’t digest) it? Or could it even slow down the peel’s or produce’s composting process if it actually does rot?

Don’t think buying organic will keep Apeel away from you. It’s considered organic and non-GMO. It’s even Non-GMO Project verified. In fact, Dr. Jane Ruby said that organic produce is “specifically targeted.” Individual items of produce aren’t even necessarily labeled — a box in the back of the store could have the Apeel label. That seems potentially sneaky.

To help you figure out if your favorite store carries produce coated with Apeel, head to the “find Apeel” page on the Apeel website. I’m not sure this is an exhaustive list, but it will at least help get your search started. You can also check with your grocer if you’re concerned. Could the grocers lie or not even know about it? Of course.

Your best bets — as Dr. Jane Ruby suggests — are probably to work on growing your own produce (homegrown tastes so much better anyway!) and/or to find small local growers. You can also look for local produce co-ops (double-check that their items don’t have it either, just in case).

Could Apeel be completely safe and even a good thing? It’s possible. But by virtue of association alone, the product appears to be something to be leery of. And the conspiracy theorists have been batting a pretty good average.

So what should we do about it? If you are concerned about this coating (I think it would be prudent to be), here’s my take at the moment. When you can, make an effort not to purchase items that use this potential toxin. If you’re eating at someone’s house, graciously eat what you’re given (which I believe is biblical). If Apeel is indeed toxic, even if it’s on your food, God can totally protect you from it! When you are purchasing your own produce however, I recommend steering clear of this coating.

Further resources

Check in-text links for more specific pages.

• “Apeel, Reverse Transcriptase & Genetic Modification with Dr. Daniel Nagase” from Dr. Jane Ruby

• “Apeel, Toxic Metals & Heavy Metal Poisoning in Food” by Dr. Jane Ruby

• Apeel’s website

• “New Facts: Apeel Fruit/Veggie Protective Coating NOT Appealing” from Deep Roots at Home

• “Scaling to $2 Billion, backed by Oprah, Katy Perry to solve the Global Food Waste Issue: a Conversation with James Rogers, Founder & CEO, Apeel Sciences” from Billion Dollar Moves with Sarah Chen-Spellings

• Telegram post shared by Dr. Jane Ruby

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Updates:

• Sprouts does not plan to carry produce with Edipeel. See my post here.

• This video from Beyond Labels (hosted by Joel Salatin and Dr. Sina McCullough) makes me wonder if maybe Apeel might not be so bad compared to how grocery store produce is already treated. I’m not sure. (Video link may be monetized.)

• This video from Dr. Eric Berg shares concerning/interesting info on the product.