What You Should Know About Apeel

UPDATED 28 August 2025

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, a quick note: there’s no public record we’ve found confirming Apeel is currently being used on produce in Australia. But — and this is important — it was officially approved by FSANZ (Food Standards Australia New Zealand) in April 2021 for use on conventional fresh fruits and vegetables.

There are also no labelling requirements for it here. So while we can’t say for sure that it’s on supermarket shelves, 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 Sciences.

The idea is to stop produce from going off too quickly — which sounds great in theory — but in reality, it’s another lab-made product created to extend supply chains and maximise profit.

Apeel is a fat-based film applied in two stages:

• Stage 1: InvisiPeel – sprayed before harvest with pesticidal and fungicidal properties
• Stage 2: EdiPeel – applied after harvest to lock out moisture and oxygen

Once it’s on there, it’s on. You can’t scrub it off.

🧂 But It’s Made From Food, Right?

That’s the marketing line: “Made from plants. Nothing else.”

Technically, sure — just like margarine is technically made from food. But we’re not lining up to eat margarine by the spoonful either.

What’s actually inside Apeel?

• Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids (INS 471), often extracted using solvents like heptane or ethyl acetate
• Carboxylic acids, ethers, esters, thiols, amides, and alkenyl groups
• Waxes, salts (organic and inorganic), and traces of trans fats

So while it might be “edible,” it’s not exactly kitchen-cupboard stuff. And unlike a natural apple wax, you can’t rinse this one off with warm water.

Even the organic version — Organipeel — was found to contain 0.6% citric acid and 99.4% undisclosed ingredients.

🥬 Wait, They’re Using This on Organic Food Now?

In the U.S., Apeel Sciences developed Organipeel — a version marketed for organic produce. It was registered with the EPA as a fungicide, and OMRI-listed for organic use.

But here’s the catch: listing it as a “fungicide” allowed it to bypass stricter organic coating regulations — a loophole that drew heavy criticism.

The good news? Organipeel was discontinued in 2023. Apeel Sciences pulled it from the market, stating that it wouldn’t meet USDA Organic expectations in its current form. They’re reportedly working on a new formulation.

And here in Australia, Certified Organic standards do not allow Apeel or Organipeel. So if you’re buying properly certified organic produce, you can breathe a little easier — for now.

⚠️ Is It Safe?

Regulators like FSANZ and the FDA have said yes — classifying Apeel’s core ingredients as GRAS (Generally Recognised As Safe).

But those assessments are based on individual components. What hasn’t been studied long-term is what happens when these compounds are blended into a coating, stuck to your food, and eaten every day.

In the EU, Apeel is restricted to fruit with inedible skins (like bananas, citrus and avocados). In Australia and the U.S., it can be used on anything — even foods we eat whole, like apples, grapes, tomatoes and berries.

And remember: there are no mandatory labelling laws for Apeel here. Not in supermarkets. Not in cafés. Not in juices or meal services.

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…

• We don’t know how the coating ingredients interact in our gut over time.
  
  
• Even if small doses are “safe”, what about the cumulative impact from daily intake?
  
  
• 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:

• Local food systems
  
  
• Reducing food waste at the distribution level
  
  
• 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.

References:

1. Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ), Approval Report A1191, April 2021. Link to report (PDF)
2. U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), GRAS Notice No. 648, 2016. https://www.fda.gov/media/109288/download
3. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Organipeel Pesticide Registration, Reg. No. 92207-1.
4. Organic Insider, The Organipeel Controversy – Key Takeaways, 2023. https://organicinsider.com/newsletter/organipeel-apeel-controversy-key-takeaways-coating-fungicide
5. Codex Alimentarius Commission, General Standard for Food Additives (GSFA), 2019. http://www.fao.org/gsfaonline/docs/CXS_192e.pdf
6. Davis, N. (2023). The truth about emulsifiers and gut health. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/jun/29/the-truth-about-emulsifiers-gut-health-microbiome
7. Skotnicka, M., et al. (2023). Monoacylglycerides and diacylglycerides: Associations with cardiometabolic health and gut microbiota. PubMed. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37673430