US: Behind the rumour of baby carrots being washed in Chlorine

Tag : carrot
US: Behind the rumour of baby carrots being washed in Chlorine

An e-mail is being circulated that warns consumers against thepre-cut and pre-washed ready-to-eat baby carrots that are sopopular in the grocery stores these days. A friend sent me ane-mail today warning against the consumption of baby carrots:

Baby Carrots and chlorine

The following is information from a farmer who grows and packagescarrots for IGA, METRO, LOBLAWS, etc. The small cocktail (baby)carrots you buy in small plastic bags are made using the largercrooked or deformed carrots which are put through a machine whichcuts and shapes them into cocktail carrots. Most people probablyknow this already.

What you may not know and should know is the following:

Once the carrots are cut and shaped into cocktail carrots they aredipped in a solution of water and chlorine in order to preservethem (this is the same chlorine used in your pool) since they donot have their skin or natural protective covering, they give thema higher dose of chlorine. You will notice that once you keep thesecarrots in your refrigerator for a few days, a white covering willform on the carrots, this is the chlorine which resurfaces. At whatcost do we put our health at risk to have esthetically pleasingvegetables which are practically plastic?

We do hope that this information can be passed on to as many peopleas possible in the hopes of informing them where these carrots comefrom and how they are processed. Chlorine is a very well knowncarcinogen. In contrast to many e-mails circulating around theInternet, this one is fairly well written, and risks therefore tobe taken seriously by a lot of people. However, that does not makeit necessarily true. So, what do we have to think about thismessage?

Are baby carrots really made using larger crooked or deformedcarrots? Originally, yes. The baby carrot was invented in 1986 byleading Newhall California carrot producer Mike Yurosek who soughtto save at least some of the broken or misshapen carrots that hecould not use in his fresh carrot packing line.

In order to make baby carrots, he used an industrial green beancutter to cut them in pieces of about 5 cm long. He then put themin an industrial potato peeler to peel them and round them a bit.And so, the baby carrot was born. It is unclear why the author ofthe e-mail mentions this origin of the baby-cut carrot. Does he orshe think that an odd-shaped carrot is bad for one's health in someway? Let's be clear: there is no difference whatsoever innutritional or health qualities between a perfectly shaped carrotand a crooked or misshaped one.

Now, although baby carrots can be bought, most baby carrots sold ingrocery store are also not really baby carrots but normal carrotsof the "Imperator" type that have been planted close together tomake them long and thin. Once harvested, they are washed, sorted,cut, trimmed, grated, polished and shaped into the small uniformsize we find in the grocery store packages.

How can you know if you are buying genuine baby carrots? Easy. Babycarrots are indeed just that: carrots that have been harvestedwhile still very young. Baby-cut carrots are easier to find, andthey are the larger carrots that have been shaped into babycarrots.

What about the chlorine? This is true as well. The carrots must bewashed with chlorinated water. This water must have a pH (acidity)between 6.0 and 7.0. The concentration of chlorine in the watershould be between 100 and 150 ppm (parts per million). The time ofcontact between the carrots and the chlorinated water should notexceed 5 minutes. This must be removed from the carrots by rinsingwith potable water or using a centrifugal drier.

Is this dangerous? No. Chlorination is a well-known and well-testedway to disinfect food products. Our tap water is chlorinated aswell. I would nevertheless like to issue a warning. When youdisinfect something, that means that you kill the bacteria that arepresent. Chlorine kills bacteria. It can also kill us, or be verybad for us. The bleach you use to clean and disinfect your toilet,contains chlorine. Do not drink it. This will kill you because itis far more concentrated than we can safely ingest. The chlorine inyour tap water and in your baby-carrots, presents no dangerwhatsoever. It is precisely to make them safe that the carrots areused.

As a side-note, it is interesting to know that the term chlorine issomething of a misnomer. Chlorine, in its natural state, is ahighly reactive gas that forms compounds with other products. Evenis chlorine is added to water, it will react virtually immediatelyto form compounds such as hypochlorous acid and sodiumhypochlorite. These compounds in turn disinfect the water. When wetalk about chlorine, and even about free chlorine, these compoundsare usually what we are referring to.

What about the white covering? Is that really the chlorine thatresurfaces? No. It is simply the carrot drying out. Try it out foryourself. Take a fresh, normal carrot and cut it in half. Wait. Thesame white covering (which is officially called white blush) willappear on the cut. Baby carrots will show a lot more white blushfor a very simple reason: their skin has been removed andtherefore, the entire carrot dries out.

Now, what about the "practically plastic" claim? This meansnothing. It doesn't even make sense here. My best guess is that theperson who wrote the text, either wanted to make it sound even moreterrible, or that he or she had heard a rumour about chlorine beingan ingredient in plastics (PVC = polyvinyl chloride is a goodexample). There is absolutely no plastic in baby carrots.

What about the cancer claim? The question is a valid one,especially because we know that there are certain compounds ofchlorine that do cause cancer. Does chlorine cause cancer? No.While medical science is not an exact science, and we must alwaysbe vigilant, there is at present no evidence whatsoever thatchlorine causes cancer or could be a facilitator for cancer. TheDepartment of Health and Human Services (DHHS) the InternationalAgency for Research on Cancer (IARC), and the EnvironmentalProtection Agency (EPA) have not classified chlorine as to itshuman carcinogenicity. In other words, chlorine is perfectly safe,if it is used appropriately.

The author asks to send her/his "information" to as many people aspossible in the hopes of informing them where these carrots comefrom and how they are processed. Please don't. We all receive morethan junk mail and spam than we need, and we are already bombardedwith more quackery and pseudoscience than we can handle. Do yourfriends and contacts a favour, and let them out of it!

In short, there is nothing wrong with baby carrots. They are a foodthat humans have enjoyed for centuries, probably millennia,chock-full of goodness that we need to keep our bodies functioning.


Source: digitaljournal.com

Publication date: 9/23/2008