Cocktail Carrots? Are they good for you?

[Acre of Blessings]

Got this in an e-mail today and thought I would pass it on to you all. It's about those little baby carrots that we buy for convience. I always wondered what that white stuff is that comes up on them. Now I know.

---------- Forwarded Message ----------

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
=2
0 them (this is the same
chlorine
used your pool) since they do not have their skin or
natural
protective covering, they give the m 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 in formation available to
as many people as
possible.
If
you care about your family and friends, pass it
on.

 

[RTRChick]

ick... ew. never buying mini carrots again. I'll just cut up my own carrot sticks.

 

[FarmerChick]

all veggies are processed with something. baby carrots are no exception. fruit is picked unripe and gassed in trucks on the way from another state to your store, eggs are procesed in bleach etc. to get off the crud and bloom, then they are dipped in light solution of oil and chemicals to produce a new coating to keep out bacteria...etc. etc. packaged lettuce is dipped in chlorine to maintain freshness also.

I love the midget carrots. Don't buy them alot but I do and I will keep buying them. Just me, this one doesn't bother me so much actually. I grow and eat tons of my own stuff but occasionally I am going to risk it from the store..LOL

great info to pass on for people to know.

 

[punkin]

I buy these carrots alot. Sometimes, they do set in the fridge for a while. However, I have not noticed any white residue at all. But, it does make me want to reach for the organics.

 

[Wildsky]

http://www.snopes.com/food/tainted/carrots.asp

Interesting. Only word from the canadians - nothing on what the USA permits as far as this goes.

 

[dacjohns]

Hmm.

I do believe that most municipal drinking water is treated with chlorine.

You can get chlorine treatment equipment for private water supplies.

I never noticed the white on the baby carrots after a few days. I have noticed them getting slimy.

I started buying regular carrots because they were cheaper.

When I was in Africa we washed many of the fresh fruits and vegetables that were bought on the local economy with a water and bleach (chlorine) solution.

Bleach (chlorine) is used as a disinfectant for food preparation surfaces and in sanitizing dishes.

Lots of things are carcinogens but can be used safely.

I usually check those types of emails for validity. So many of them are just not true.

 

[sweetcorn]

This thread reminded me I have carrots to pull !! I almost forgot they were out there because most of the rest of the garden is finished for the season.