Fruit waxing is the process of covering fruits (and, in some cases,

vegetables Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the flowers, fruits, stems ...

) with artificial waxing material. Natural

wax Waxes are a diverse class of organic compounds that are lipophilic, malleable solids near ambient temperatures. They include higher alkanes and lipids, typically with melting points above about 40 °C (104 °F), melting to giv ...

is removed first, usually by washing, followed by a coating of a biological or petroleum derived wax. Potentially allergenic proteins (

peanut The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics, important to both small and ...

soy The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean, which has numerous uses. Traditional unfermented food uses of soybeans include soy milk, from which tofu and ...

, dairy,

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

) may be combined with

shellac Shellac () is a resin secreted by the female lac bug on trees in the forests of India and Thailand. It is processed and sold as dry flakes and dissolved in alcohol to make liquid shellac, which is used as a brush-on colorant, food glaze and ...

. The primary reasons for waxing are to prevent water loss (making up for the removal in washing of the natural waxes in fruits that have them, particularly citrus but also, for example, applesP. E. Kolattukudy
"Natural Waxes on Fruits"
, ''Post Harvest Pomology Newsletter'' 2.2 (1984), repr. Tree Fruit Research and Extension Center,

Washington State University Washington State University (Washington State, WSU, or informally Wazzu) is a public land-grant research university with its flagship, and oldest, campus in Pullman, Washington. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest land-grant uni ...

, March 2003 (pdf)) and thus retard shrinkage and spoilage, and to improve appearance.Leo J. Klotz, Walter Reuther, E. Clair Calavan, Glenn E. Carman, ''et al''., ''The Citrus Industry'' Volume 5 ''Crop Protection, Postharvest Technology, and Early History of Citrus Research in California'', ANR publications (University of California, Oakland) 3326, rev. ed. Berkeley: University of California, 1989
p. 182
Dyes may be added to further enhance appearance,Keith Thompson, ''Fruit and Vegetables: Harvesting, Handling and Storage'', nd ed. of ''Postharvest Technology of Fruits and Vegetables''Oxford: Blackwell / Ames, Iowa: Iowa State, 2003,
p. 287
and sometimes

fungicides Fungicides are biocidal chemical compounds or biological organisms used to kill parasitic fungi or their spores. A fungistatic inhibits their growth. Fungi can cause serious damage in agriculture, resulting in critical losses of yield, quality ...

.Frank D. Gunstone and Fred B. Padley, ''Lipid Technologies and Applications'', New York: Dekker, 1997
p. 463
Fruits were waxed to cause fermentation as early as the 12th or the 13th century; commercial producers began waxing citrus to extend shelf life in the 1920s and 1930s. Aesthetics (consumer preference for shiny fruit) has since become the main reason. In addition to fruit, some vegetables can usefully be waxed, such as

cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively cultivated ...

. A distinction may be made between storage wax, pack-out wax (for immediate sale), and high-shine wax (for optimum attractiveness).L. R. Verma and V. K. Joshi, ''Postharvest Technology of Fruits and Vegetables: Handling, Processing, Fermentation, and Waste Management'', Volume 1 ''General Concepts and Principles'', New Delhi: Indus, 2000,
p. 120

Produce that is often waxed

A number of sources list the following as produce which may be waxed before shipping to stores: *apples * avocados * bell and hot peppers * cantaloupes * cucumbers * eggplant * grapefruit * lemons * limes * mangoes * melons * nectarines * oranges * papayas * parsnips * passion fruit * peaches * pears * pineapple * plums * pumpkins * rutabaga * squash * sweet potatoes * tangarines * tomatoes * turnips * yucca

Materials

The materials used to wax produce depend to some extent on regulations in the country of production and/or export. Both natural waxes (

carnauba Carnauba (; pt, carnaúba ), also called Brazil wax and palm wax, is a wax of the leaves of the carnauba palm ''Copernicia prunifera'' (synonym: ''Copernicia cerifera''), a plant native to and grown only in the northeastern Brazilian states of ...

, shellac, beeswax or

resin In polymer chemistry and materials science, resin is a solid or highly viscous substance of plant or synthetic origin that is typically convertible into polymers. Resins are usually mixtures of organic compounds. This article focuses on n ...

) and petroleum-based waxes (usually proprietary formulae) are used, and often more than one wax is combined to create the desired properties for the fruit or vegetable being treated. Wax may be applied in a volatile petroleum-based solvent but is now more commonly applied via a water-based emulsion. Blended paraffin waxes applied as an oil or paste are often used on vegetables.

References

{{Reflist

Produce that is often waxed

Materials

See also

References

Further reading