Who doesn’t love fruit with a side of dangerous pesticides?
Shoppers are confused and angry after discovering that some fruit at Tesco is technically not vegan; yep, you read that right.
While fruit itself is vegan, a coating on the food means that it can’t be legally labelled as vegan or vegetarian. One shopper said she was left “shaken” after discovering that oranges, satsumas and mandarins were among the fruit labelled as “non-vegan” both in-shop and online.
Sharing the news on social media, she wrote: “I am shocked to find out that the oranges I was trying to buy all day are not vegan. Pfft.”
These outlier fruits are also being sold at Marks and Spencer and Morrisons, reports the Manchester Evening News.
Essentially, these fruits are classified as non-vegan due to the pesticides used to help the fruit grow better. Imazalil is one such pesticide often employed in tiny quantities, as any more, and it would be illegal. E904 Imazalil uses wax made from shellac, which takes around 10,000 dead bugs to make. Shellac is also used in candy, so next time you are waffing down some sweets, just know they are probably covered in dead bugs.
Beeswax is also used to give fruits a nice shine to them, which again is not vegan. Propiconazole is also included in some pesticides and is now being used more frequently across the UK as we are no longer in the EU, which heavily regulates the chemical.
One furious social media user wrote: “Propiconazole banned by the EU because of risks to fertility and to the health of the unborn child. Propiconazole is now on fruit in the UK. Important work done by the EU in assessing safety of chemicals – now ditched by Govt.”
Another said: “When fruit isn’t suitable for vegans you know something bad is happening.” With one explaining: “Imazalil & propiconazole are fungicides & are the reason why we should’ve been (long before now) scrubbing citrus fruits before using the peel & washing hands after peeling & before eating treated fruit. Better to buy organic, untreated fruits when available.”
When MyLondon probed Tesco for a response, they said it’s a standard industry practice but they are allegedly working on a vegan-friendly alternative.
Related links:
- McDonald’s creates Frankenstein’ Land Acan’ta’ burger that needs to be seen to be believed
- People can’t believe the ‘world’sus price of a b’rger and chips at Arsenal
- Man eats ‘world’s biggest burger’ in front of vegan protestors
