Apples good. Preservatives baaad.

Well, it's been eight days and my fruit tray has finally decided it's time to give up the ship and start decomposing. The green granny-smith apples went first, followed by the red apples and finally 50% of the grapes have decided its time to wilt a little. What gets me is that the red apples are still wet to the touch and are considerably still the same size. Notice how much the green apple slices have shrunk as they dried up and the moisture was removed.




Monday night, I stopped again at the same McDonalds on my route home. I purchased another Fruit & Walnut snack tray and asked the manager on duty if the trays are packed there at the store or if they are delivered from a distribution center. In his limited english, I deciphered that they come to the store that way -- meaning that the tray is probably several days older than the date I purchased it. No problem, it's what I expect when you buy frankenfood.


I also stopped at the store and picked up a regular everyday red apple (bottom right) and an organic apple (top) of the same type. I chopped up a few pieces and set them on an old plate next to the McDonald's tray to watch them decompose. Whee. It's almost like watching paint dry...except that probably won't give you cancer. .. anywhoo...

I walked away and made myself my cup of morning tea (yes, I've sworn off coffee for a while), wandered the house aimlessly and probably wasted about 20 minutes before I checked the plate again. The organic apples at the top of the plate (the ones treated with no preservatives, hormones, herbicides, fungicides or pesticides) are already turning brown.


The normal apples that you buy from the store are treated with pesticides at the very least, so I am not at the least bit suprized the organics went first, but the regular store apples (bottom right) look a little brownish, but still edible.

Shopping was easy when most food came from farms. Now, factory-made foods have made chemical additives a significant part of our diet. Most people may not be able to pronounce the names of many of these chemicals, but they still want to know what the chemicals do and which ones are safe and which are poorly tested or possibly dangerous. This listing provides that information for most common additives. A simple general rule about additives is to avoid sodium nitrite, saccharin, caffeine, olestra, acesulfame K, and artificial coloring. Not only are they among the most questionable additives, but they are used primarily in foods of low nutritional value... but why?

This picture was taken 24 hours from when I opened the package. I'll let the picture do the talking. My next step will be a call to the PR department of McDonalds. :)

~ J