Hello,
Here is something circulating on the Internet today:
“DANGER TO YOUR FAMILY!!
From the Department of Life Education:Baby Carrots:
The following is information from a farmer who grows and packages carrots for IGA
, METRO, LOBLAWS, etc.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?
Chlorine is a very well-known carcinogen, which causes Cancer. I thought this was worth passing on. Pass it on to as many people as possible in hopes of informing them where these carrots come from and how they are processed.
I used to buy those baby carrots for vegetable dips. I know that I will never buy them again!!!!”
Is this true? Let’s take a look. Thanks to good ol’ Google here is what I found:
- Snopes.com tells us: “Mixture of True and False Information”. Gotta wonder if there’s a web site to verify Snopes’ facts!
- From Water Quality and Health web site (www.waterandhealth.org): That White Film on Baby Carrots: Myth and Fact
- But the answer that satisfied me is one who came from someone who’d called the company herself. From Lisa Leake, “100 Days of Real Food”, The Truth About Baby Carrots.
So, YES. They use a solution of chlorine and water to soak carrots. It’s a safe bet that it’s true for most of our fruit and veggies. Are you satisfied that it’s legal and acceptable? That’s up to you. My answer to the problem?
GROW YOUR OWN CARROTS! It’s time to get your gardens ready…GO!
Happy Spring everyone. 🙂
Carboholics for Healthy Eating 
I’ve been seeing this, too. My question (among many), what or where or who is the “Department of Life Education?” A Google search for that term brings up the baby carrot story. There’s nothing in the US Federal system that uses that title. I guess if you’re going to make up a food scare, it would be smarter to use a REAL agency, like maybe FDA or CDC or even USDA. Providing a link to support your hysteria would also add credibility. I agree with you: grow your own….