What Stores Are Spraying Produce With Antimicrobials?

More than 10,000 stores use antimicrobials in their misters across the USA

Back in April I wrote about what Sprouts Farmers Market’s puts in their misters over the produce section. Yup it was, or should I say that it IS, another “THING” that we have to worry about in and on our food. So many people thought that it was simply water in the misters over the produce - myself included! But, we learned that it’s not just water being used and in many stores they are actually using antimicrobial sprays, such as ProduceMaxx, which contains hypochlorous acid—a form of free chlorine—at concentrations as high as 6,000 parts per million (ppm). This is alarmingly high compared to the CDC’s limit of 4 ppm for safe drinking water. You can read my breakdown of that here.

Did you know that ProduceMaxx is used by over 10,000 stores across the United States to keep produce fresher for longer and reduce spoilage? It’s FDA-approved (rolling my eyes… so are a lot of other things) but are there risks with the consumption of that much chlorine? (Read that article linked here again for the breakdown of the parts per million (ppm) that is safe). For those of us who go out of our way to avoid chemicals in our food, it’s concerning — at least it’s concerning to me.

I just wish people would stop playing God with our food.

What are some of the stores are using ProduceMaxx? Well, let’s talk about it for a second…