Apeel is an invisible coating made up of purified monoglycerides and diglycerides which claims to keep fruit fresh for twice as long. Although found in some foods, researchers know relatively little about how eating large amounts of monoglycerides affects the body.
When nature is tampered with, research has shown it does not fare well for mankind. It is unnatural for real food to have an extended shelf life. #thinkaboutit
As of 11/14/23, the following list accurately reflects the disclosures and policies of growers and grocery retailers on selling produce treated with Apeel's Edipeel or Organipeel food coatings.
Natural Grocers: Natural Grocers issued a public corporate statement saying they do not carry any produce or items that have been treated with Apeel's food coatings.
Sprouts Farmers Markets: Sprouts recently made a decision to not carry any produce that's treated with Apeel. They annnounced this internally to employees, but have not made a public statement or policy yet.
Costco: Costco partnered with Apeel as far back as 2018 but recently stopped carrying any produce treated with Apeel. Their corporate produce department said they have no plans to ever sell produce treated with Apeel again. The Limoneira lemons they carry are not treated with Apeel.
Publix: Publix will not purchase any produce that's been treated with Apeel's food coatings.
H-E-B: H-E-B does not use any items treated with Apeel in the products they manufacture. They are not actively seeking out or requesting items treated with Apeel. The responsibility ultimately falls on their suppliers to adhere to their requests, so there is not a 100% guarantee.
Central Market: The Texas based gourmet grocery store is owned by H-E-B and shares their exact policy on Apeel.
Whole Foods: Whole Foods would not give a clear or straightforward answer on if they source produce treated with Apeel. I spoke to three produce departments, three customer service representatives, and three corporate offices. One corporate office said Apeel's Edipeel and Organipeel food coatings meet Whole Food's safety standards. I went and looked at the produce and could not find any items treated with Apeel.
Trader Joes: Trader Joes no longer sources any produce treated with Apeel's food coatings. They have not released a public statement or policy. I requested that they do this.
Jimbo's: The San Diego Organic Grocery chain publicly states that they do not carry or accept any produce treated with Apeel.
ALDI: Aldi does not have a policy on Apeel and no employees are able to speak on it. They source produce from brands (West Pak & Limoneira) that use Apeel, but it is not clear whether the items they carry are treated with Apeel's coatings.
Kroger: Produce items sold under Kroger’s own label are not treated with Apeel food coatings. However, Kroger is not able to speak about or certify other produce brands that they carry.
Clark's Nutrition: The Los Angeles natural grocery market chain has decided to not carry any products with Apeel on it. They contacted all of their distribution partners to say they do not want any produce or items treated with Apeel.
Bragg: Bragg does not source any apples that have been treated with Organipeel or Edipeel. Bragg makes it clear that none of their apples are treated with other waxes or coatings either.
Rainier Fruit Company: Rainier does not use Apeel on any of their fruit.
Driscoll's: Driscoll's, the popular berry growing brand, does not use Apeel to treat any of their fruit.
West Pak: West Pak increased their capacity for treating avocados with Apeel's food coatings. They do not disclose which retailers carry avocados that have and have not been treated.
Limoneira: Limoneira is the first lemon producer to partner with Apeel. They will apply Edipeel on conventional lemons and Organipeel on organic lemons. They plan to coat 5 million cartons worth of lemons this year. Their financial guidelines outline their fiscal year estimates to sell 5-5.4 million cartons of lemons, indicating that all of their lemons will be coated with Apeel.
Stemilt Apples: Stemilt previously used Organipeel on all of their organic apples. Their communications team informed me that they no longer use Apeel on any of their apples.
Calavo Avocados: Calavo offers a small number of organic and conventional avocados treated with Apeel's coatings, which only amounts to a truck-full a week. They do not send Apeel treated avocados to Whole Foods.
Credit to this research: My Healthy Forward, LLC.
