Some of you may have received an email that warns against use of chlorine during the process of baby carrots and wondered what to do about it. If you have not seen the email, I've included the one forwarded by a reader of Fishtarian below for your reference.
The following is information from a farmer who grows and packages carrots for IGA, METRO, LOBLAWS, etc.The email is so well written that it would easily raise doubts in your mind wondering whether you should continue offering your kids healthy finger food. So, I set out to do some research. After all, baby carrots have been my long-time favorite and a common ingredient in my recipes. Below are my findings:
The small cocktail (baby) carrots you buy in small plastic bags are made using the larger crooked or deformed carrots which are put through a machine which cuts and shapes them into cocktail carrots . most people probably know this already.
What you may not know and should know is the following: once the carrots are cut and shaped into cocktail carrots they are dipped in a solution of water and chlorine in order to preserve them (this is the same chlorine used in your pool) since they do not have their skin or natural protective covering, they give them a higher dose of chlorine. You will notice that once you keep these carrots in your refrigerator for a few days, a white covering will form on the carrots, this is the chlorine which resurfaces. At what cost do we put our health at risk to
have esthetically pleasing vegetables which are practically plastic?
We do hope that this information can be passed on to as many people as possible in the hopes of informing them where these carrots come from and how they are processed. Chlorine is a very well known carcinogen. Please let us make this information available to as many people as possible. If you care about your family and friends, pass it on.
- Are the baby carrots made out of the larger crooked carrots? The answer is "true - originally". The baby carrot was invented in 1986 by leading Newhall California carrot producer Mike Yurosek who sought to save at least some of the broken or misshapen carrots that he could not use in his fresh carrot packing line. That is no longer the case, though. A new breed of smaller carrots is now commonly used particularly for the baby carrots. The new breed is designed to contain extra sweetness and to have stronger appeal to children. Even if the baby carrots are made out of the larger crooked carrots, there wouldn't be any difference in terms of nutrition. So, I don't see this as a problem.
- Are the baby carrots dipped in a chlorine water solution during the processing? The answer to that question is also "true." Don't panic, yet. Chlorine dioxide antimicrobial for fruits and vegetables is allowed by FDA. In fact, it's a very common practice in the food processing industry that handles food treatment from fruits, vegetables, chicken, to red meat. The truth is chlorine sensitization over
food is considered safe, when following the FDA guidelines. If you truly wish to stay away from baby carrots due to this concern, consider buying the carrots that are not cut and peeled. You would probably have to resist all kinds of fresh cut vegetables, too. - How about the white covering, then? The white covering has nothing to do with chlorine dioxide antimicrobial at all. It naturally forms on the cutting surface of carrots, after they are dried out in the air. You can reproduce the same effect by peeling and letting dry a fresh normal-sized carrot you get from a grocery store. The entire baby carrot is a cutting surface.
5 comments:
Great job for providing the evidence and analyzing the true facts behind the previous baby carrots article. Our kids now can be rest assured that they still can enjoy the baby carrots.
Thank you for your comment. Glad to know my post offers useful information.
I received the e-mail to which you are referring. It fits a certain type of e-mail that tends to go around -- ones with a little bit of fact, a little bit of fantasy and, in my case, no source. When I received it I set out to do my own research and what resulted was Baby Carrots ~~ When Is A Carrot Not A Carrot.
I am not sure that just because the FDA says it is okay. Why would we want extra chlorine on our foods? I recommend either buying baby carrots which are grown and harvested as babies and NOT baby-cut carrots or buying the regular-sized carrots (which is also much less expensive) and cutting up your own.
I hope you will visit my page to see what else I learned about baby carrots!
Brenda
Hi Brenda - I've read your lens about baby carrots - a very well composed and impressive lens. I agree with you that we shouldn't just take the words from FDA based on the history. I'm not sure the "baby carrots" instead of the "baby-cut carrots" implies no chlorine, though. Certainly, normal-sized fresh carrots would be a better choice from that perspective. Thank you again for your good work and comments.
Hi, BKO
Thank you for visiting my lens. I assumed that 'baby carrots', since they are grown to be harvested when they are still small, would not be subject to the chlorine wash because their surface has not been cut the way 'baby-cut carrots' have. That would make them equal to large carrots at least with regard to the chlorine wash issue.
Brenda
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