Here Is The Disturbing Truth About How Some Of Your Favorite Foods Are Made

Before you bite into that apple or pick up an extra loaf of supermarket bread, you should know where your food comes from. A quick warning, however—it’s not pretty.

by Aaron Wiles

1. Apples are covered with ground-up bug resin.

It’s called “shellac,” and it’s a waxy resin secreted by the lac bug. That’s what gives apples their shine.
“But wait,” you’re probably saying while chewing on a Red Delicious, “I picked an apple off of a tree, and it still looked shiny.”
That’s because apples create their own natural wax to prevent premature decomposition. Of course, food companies usually remove that wax during the cleaning process. Consumers want their apples to shine, so manufacturers apply a coat of shellac. All better, right?
So, just to recap: Food distributors remove the wax from your apple to “clean” it, then apply the resin from the lac bug, then sell it to you. Oh, and here’s what that shellac looks like before it’s processed.

Shellac is also commonly used on lemons, oranges, and Jelly Belly jelly beans, and it’s not just a resin—many of the bugs are processed along with the resin scrapings. Yes, that means that your apple is covered in ground-up bug bodies. Enjoy.

2. Maraschino cherries are bleached, then re-dyed red.

Quick, picture a maraschino cherry. Did you picture a bright-red little cherry on top of an ice cream sundae?… read more here