photo #8463178

#news Fast Fact: Bill Gates' ORGANIC version of Apeel - Organipeel - is registered as a pesticide with the EPA and a fungicide with OMRI#DC Both products are put on fruits and vegetables. - including organic - to extend the shelf-life of the produce, with Organipeel described as an organic-certified version of Apeel that can be put directly on organic produce. However the EPA has issued a warning about consuming the product saying, "Causes moderate eye irritation. Avoid contact with eyes or clothing. Wear safety glasses when handling. Wash thoroughly with soap and water after handling and before eating, drinking, chewing gum, using tobacco, or using the toilet." .Apeel markets Organipeel as a "coating" ( in FDA GRAS applications), but registered it as a "fungicide" with the EPA and OMRI to bypass stricter organic rules for coatings. Under USDA regulations, coatings require separate approval, and mono- and diglycerides (found in Apeel's non-organic version) are banned as coatings but allowed in limited uses like drum drying. Organipeel does not contain mono- and diglycerides, but there are reports that it contains potential residues such as trace heavy metals like arsenic, lead, cadmium, or palladium from manufacturingOrganipeel is registered with the EPA as a fungicide. 99.34% of its ingredients are not publicly listed. It was approved by Biden's EPA in 2019 Organipeel is also listed as a fungicide with the OMRI. OMRI also approved it in 2019 .OMRI reviewed the full "other ingredients" but again the ingredients are not listed publiclyPrevious report on Apeel. -Bill Gates Apeel coating product is approved to be used on Organic FoodsIt contains Mono- and Diglycerides and the manufacturing process for appeal may involve solvents like ethyl acetate and heptane, and trace heavy metalsHowever, it was approved to be used in organic foods even though it contains mono- and diglycerides which are explicitly banned to be used on organic foods by the USDA“Regulators approved Appeel as a fungicide, not a coating. A technical loophole that slides it under organic certification rules.""So while you think you're buying clean, untouched food, you're actually getting produce treated with compounds that critics warn may leave behind residues like arsenic, lead, cadmium, and palladium.”Mono- and diglycerides are only permitted in organic production for drum drying, not as coatings, Organipeel’s use as a coating violates USDA regulations.Apeel makes an average of $84 Million each year.