You might not see it. You might not taste it. But that doesn’t mean you’re not eating it.
It’s called Apeel - and despite the feel-good marketing about saving food waste and feeding the world, we think it’s time we peel back the layers on this one… What is Apeel? Why is it raising eyebrows (and health concerns)? And how can you avoid it?
Before we get into it, though, we'd like to put a little disclaimer that there’s no public record that we can find confirming that Apeel is currently being used on produce in Australia... but it has been approved for use by FSANZ (Food Standards Australia New Zealand), and there are no labelling laws requiring it to be disclosed.
So while we can’t say for certain that it’s on shelves yet, we also can’t say that it isn’t. Which means your fruit and veg could be wearing an invisible, unlabelled coat - and you'd never know.
That’s why it’s more important than ever to ask questions and know your sources.
🧪 So, What Even Is Apeel?
Apeel is a coating applied to fruits and vegetables to extend their shelf life. It was developed by a company called Apeel, backed by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and founded by a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, James Rogers in 2021. Sounds totally grassroots and community-driven, right?
The idea is to stop produce from going off too quickly, which is cool in theory, but in reality, it’s yet another unnatural substance being used to make more money by cutting corners. It’s a synthetic, lab-created, fat-based film applied in two stages:
Stage 1: InvisiPeel – sprayed before harvest. Has pesticidal, fungicidal, and preservative properties.
Stage 2: EdiPeel – applied after harvest. Acts as a barrier to oxygen and moisture.
Together, invisipeel and edipeel make Apeel spray, and it can only be applied by an Apeel scientist or someone trained by the scientist. Once it’s on there, it’s on. You can’t scrub it off.
🧂 But It’s Made From Food, Right?
That’s what the marketing says: “just food ingredients!”
Technically... sure. But so is margarine, and we’re not exactly lining up for that.
Here’s what Apeel actually contains:
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Mono and diglycerides (aka industrial fats usually extracted using solvents like heptane or ethyl acetate)
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Carboxylic acids, ethers, esters, thiols, amides, and alkenyl groups
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Aliphalic waxes, salts (inorganic and organic), and a sprinkle of trans fats
If you wouldn’t find it in your grandma’s pantry, should it be coating your tomatoes?
Even the organic version of Apeel (Organipeel) contains 0.6% citric acid… and 99.4% mystery.
🥬 Wait, They’re Using This on Organic Food Now?
Yep. Organipeel has now been approved for use on certified organic produce in the U.S. and Australia.
More on Organipeel:
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It’s EPA-registered as a fungicide.
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It’s OMRI-listed for organic produce - but critics say this exploits a loophole: mono- and diglycerides are allowed in some organic processes, but not officially as coatings
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Despite being “organic-approved,” there’s no labelling on produce in Australia or the US, so you won’t see it listed if your apple is coated in Organipeel
⚠️ Is It Safe?
Well, according to regulators like FSANZ and the US FDA: “Sure! It’s GRAS - Generally Regarded As Safe.”
But here’s the catch: those ingredients may have been tested individually. No one really knows what happens when you mix them together, slather them all over food, and then eat them every day.
Oh, and unlike in the EU - where it’s only allowed on produce with inedible skins (like avocados, bananas and oranges) - Australia and the US allow Apeel on ALL fruits and vegetables. Even the ones we eat skin and all. 🍇🍎🍓
And again, there are no mandatory labelling laws for Apeel in Australia. Not in supermarkets. Not in cafés. Not even in fresh juice companies. So unless your supplier specifically says they don’t use it, you’re in the dark.
🦠 What About Gut Health?
Much like with glyphosate, we now know that small, repeated exposures matter. With Apeel and Organipeel…
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We don’t know how the coating ingredients interact in our gut over time.
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Even if small doses are “safe”, what about the cumulative impact from daily intake?
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One report described juicing Organipeel-treated fruit and finding the probiotics didn’t ferment - suggesting a barrier to gut-friendly microbes.
So, while the coating may help produce look fresh, what about gut flora and the immune system?
🧬 The Bigger Picture
Apeel is a symptom of a much bigger issue: a system that values appearance, shelf life and financial gain over nutrition, transparency, and health.
Instead of investing in:
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Local food systems
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Reducing food waste at the distribution level
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Supporting regenerative farming that heals the land
…we’re coating our food in mystery chemicals and patting ourselves on the back.
🤔 What Can You Do?
Until labelling laws catch up (don’t hold your breath), here are a few things you can do:
✅ Buy from local organic or spray-free farmers who know exactly how their produce is grown. (Like us!)
✅ Ask your food suppliers if their produce has been treated with Apeel - if they’re unsure, maybe steer clear.
✅ Avoid pre-cut and pre-packed fruit & veg.
✅ Be a label detective - it’s okay to ask questions and advocate for your health. You’re feeding your body, not a science experiment.
✅ Support brands and markets that commit to not using Apeel-coated produce.
🍑 The Bottom Line
Apeel might be invisible, but its implications are not.
It’s time to bring food back to its roots - literally. Fresh, local, seasonal, uncoated and full of life. No film. No fluff. No nasty stuff. Just real food, grown with care.
Because nature already knows how to make an apple the right way. It doesn’t need a synthetic fat suit to stay fresh.
👉 Order your Spray-Free Farmacy box and skip the un-apeel-ing stuff. Your gut will thank you.
✅ P.S. None of Our Farmers Use Apeel (or Organipeel!)
We just want to say loud and clear:
NONE of our farmers use Apeel, Edipeel, or Organipeel.
All our fruit and veg is grown locally with integrity, without synthetic sprays, and never coated in lab-made barriers. You can wash it, juice it, ferment it, or bite straight into it knowing it’s the real deal.
