What's In The Produce Misters At Sprouts Farmers Markets?

Spoiler Alert: It's not just water.

What are they spraying on your produce at the grocery store? (it’s not Apeel lol) I found out some interesting information about that mist that you see coming down on your fresh produce at the market. It may not be what you think it is and there might be more than one reason they are dousing it. Raise your hand if you ever thought that was just water. I did. I didn’t think it to be anything else. I’ve even seen some stores where they add fake thunder and lightning flashes … then it really seems like it’s raining water on your produce, right? Clever. Well according to some photos that were posted on social media which you will see down below it definitely might be water AND something else depending on where you shop. Yup another “THING” on and in our food... and another reason to grow your own food if you can (not everyone can, sadly) or buy from the farmers market because goodness gracious we’re sick of all this crap they are adding to our food. But wait there’s more. Let’s jump in because while it makes total sense, once you know you’ll wonder why you hadn’t thought about it until now and feel so cheated.

I want to say that I’m by no means trying to scare anyone about this — I truly believe we have the right to know what is in our food and on our food and that’s why I care so much about this kind of information. Some people might not care about what I’m about to share with you and others will. If this doesn’t concern you that’s okay… bottom line we have the right to know.

An account I follow on instagram posted these photos below and the health and wellness community is freaking out and rightly so. As you can see in the first photo there’s a bottle sitting above the produce at Sprouts that looks like some kind of cleaning solution or chemical agent. What is it? It’s called ProduceMaxx.

Produce Maxx:

• Kills 99.999% of E.coli O157:H7, Salmonella enterica and Listeria monocytogenes in washing/crisping water

• Minimum soak time of 90 seconds and easy to monitor concentration

• Controls spoilage causing non-public health bacteria to enhance quality and shelf life

• Approved for use on whole or cut fruits and vegetables

• No potable water rinse required

• Non-organoleptic impact to product

Produce Maxx applications include:

• Crisping

• Washing

• Cut Fruit Preparation

• Misting

I also want to add that I don’t believe this is anything new. They have been misting our produce for years and I’m sure most of us have always thought it to be just good old h2o... There are all kinds of additives in, on and around our food, sadly. I think we’re all aware of this but I bet there’s a very good chance that you thought it was just water (even just tap water) that was raining down on your celery in the produce section. I’m not saying that all stores are using something other than just water but if you don’t ask then you don’t know. Until these photos were posted, I never even thought about it or thought to ask about it.

We called a Sprouts store to see what they would say and they said it’s not just water that they use to mist their produce. It’s water mixed with a fruit and veggie wash and then asked what my concerns were with that and I just said that I was curious because of what was in the fruit and veggie wash. I asked what the brand/name of it was and she said she didn’t know of the top of her head. She did confirm that it’s being sprayed on conventional AND organic produce. Then she hurried me off the phone before I could even ask one more question or say another word. I don’t want to read too much into that because there could be a number of reasons why she hurried off the phone but I will say this: she wasn’t in a rush at the beginning of the phone call. Hmmm.

If you’re in Southern California then you’re good to shop at Mother’s Markets because they only use water on their produce, too! I love you so much my Mother’s Market fam! (my fav grocery store)

For those of you who are in the LA area and shop at Erewhon, have no fear because I spoke with someone at an Erewhon location and they said “good old h20.” I love you, Erewhon!

I called Whole Foods (since that’s another nationwide store for you) and they said it’s just straight water and it’s used to keep it fresh. Thanks, Whole Foods! I wish they wouldn’t sell produce with Apeel on it but that’s another story.

Zooming in, you can see it’s called ProduceMaxx and it’s a antimicrobial fruit and vegetable wash that also says KEEP OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN and CAUTION in bigger letters. It also lists the ingredients… well sort of. It lists “Hypochlorus Acid*” as 0.45% and “OTHER INGREDIENTS” (here we go again with the “other” ingredients) as 99.55%. What could that be? Is it water? Is it pasta water? (kidding) Is it made of the tears of a Lebron James after a fake injury? (I’m only half-joking) Perhaps the drool of a unicorn baby? Who knows!! They won’t tell us.

What is Hypochlorous acid (HOCl)? It’s a weak acid that forms when chlorine dissolves in water and is used as a disinfectant because of its powerful antimicrobial properties. Hypochlorous acid is effective against a wide range of microorganisms, including bacteria, viruses, and fungi. Hypochlorous acid is considered safe for use in many applications because it is a naturally occurring substance in the human body and is produced by the immune system to fight off pathogens. According to google it’s also non-toxic to humans in low concentrations and rapidly breaks down into harmless byproducts, primarily salt and water, making it environmentally friendly as well. But also make sure you call poison control if you touch it (according to the label). About the “non-toxic to humans in low concentrations” part… well if you have a lot of “low concentrations” doesn’t that add up to be A LOT over time?

If you look at the ingredients list, next to Hypochlorous acid there’s an asterisk and under the asterisk it says “Contains 6000 ppm (0.6%) Free Available Chlorine (FAC). Also if you look up the safety levels of chlorine in drinking water here’s what it says, “What are safe levels of chlorine in drinking water? Chlorine levels up to 4 milligrams per liter (mg/L or 4 parts per million (ppm)) are considered safe in drinking water. At this level, harmful health effects are unlikely to occur.” Even the good old CDC says, ”The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends a safe chlorine level of up to four milligrams per liter or four parts per million. These measurements are considered safe amounts of chlorine in drinking water where harmful health effects most likely won't occur.” More on the ppm in a minute. (For the record, I prefer my drinking water to not contain chlorine - which is why we have an AquaTru filter — more on that below… this image is from their website showing more about chlorine in drinking water). These amazing water filters are on sale right now (at the time of writing this) so be sure to grab one while you can.

And, yes I’m aware that you will wash your produce when you get home. But it’s still getting on your produce and if the skin or peel of whatever is being sprayed is porous or soaks it up (which duh, you know it is) then you can add chlorine + whatever the “other ingredients” that are listed on the label to your apple, herbs, celery, or lettuce… or whatever else is being sprayed. This is what I use to wash my produce with, by the way - you can use code KrystensKitchen at checkout on your first starter kit.

Looking at their EPA filing which you can read here it talks about the proper usage. “Add ProduceMaxx® into processing sink using nozzle connected to the wall-mount dilution system. The wall-mounted diluter provides a solution of ProduceMaxx® containing approximately 30 - 60 parts per million (ppm) of free available chlorine (FAC)” So thankfully (I guess) when it’s in use it’s not at the 6000ppm that it is in the concentrate but wait a minute. Remember, if you read above a few paragraphs the CDC says that up to 4ppm of chlorine is the safe amount in drinking water but yet this ProduceMaxx solution when it’s used properly is at 30-60ppm of free available chlorine.

By the way there’s a much bigger concern than the amount of free available chlorine… well I have a few problems actually. The first is that there’s chlorine on our produce. Full stop. The bigger problem is the OTHER INGREDIENTS as I' haven’t a clue what they are (my money is still on Lebron James’ tears being part of the ingredients because we just don’t know) and the other thing is that there isn’t a big sign next to the produce section that says ANYTHING about this solution being used on the produce. We would never know if this picture wasn’t taken and shared on social media. There’a s lot of people on social media saying that HOCl is totally safe! It’ used for XY & Z. I don’t think maybe we know the long term affects of things like HOCl also to anyone who says “it’s just a little bit of chlorine! You’re fine! It’s in your water, you use it to cook with or make pasta with your sink water or drink it etc etc.” My answer is once again that a little bit adds up over time. A little bit here and there over time adds up to be “a lotta bit” and in our home we don’t use tap water for cooking EVER! We use it for washing dishes but not to drink or cook our food in. We use our under the counter sink filter unit that was super easy to install and the water tases AMAZING and we also have a countertop unit as well (we had that first). Make sure you order one with THIS link for the best drinking water ever. American Tap Water Contains Over 270 Different Dangerous Contaminants and according to the Environmental Working Group, tap water contaminants can include Lead, Chlorine, Fluoride, Nitrates, PFAs and more. They use a 4-Stage Reverse Osmosis Purification Technology that is Certified to Remove Dangerous Contaminants and is Independently Tested & Verified to NSF Standards. There’s a huge spring sale right now that ends this week! Order one here.

Now I know what you’re thinking. Krysten… what about swimming pools! Surely you’ve been in a pool before and surely that has chlorine and maybe even more than whatever is in this produce wash stuff, right? Oh friend. I’m so glad we’re on the same page. Let’s talk about pools. Yes I’ve been in a pool before (love a good pool sesh) and yes I dove into this topic (pun intended) because I had the same thought. “A good chlorine level is between 1.0 and 4.0 parts per million (ppm) for a swimming pool” (according to NPR) and according to ANSI (The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) administers and coordinates the US voluntary consensus standardization system.) “ANSI/APSP 11-2019 set the recommended amounts for two main chemicals in pool water: chlorine and bromine. The ideal concentration of Free Available Chlorine (FAC) in public pools and spas should be about 2-4 parts per million (ppm). These amounts are regulated by the EPA, which have them set to 2-4 ppm for public pools and 2-5 ppm for spas. The amount for pools is identical to the amount set for drinking water. The allowance of higher concentration for spas is due to the fact that people are less likely to swallow the water at spas. By keeping the FAC above 1 ppm, public pools can ensure inactivation of bacteria and other pathogens in the water. This is especially important for managing Cryptosporidium, which has an extended inactivation time of 10 days while exposed to a FAC of 1 ppm, and has recently been found in public pools.” Okay so back to Sprouts and their mist…

Oh and side note when you’re walking by the produce section and those misters are on with the produce wash / water stuff well now you’re breathing it in and it’s not good. I don’t have time to talk about that in this post and yes I’m aware that there’s a long list of crap we have to avoid but 1) we shouldn’t have to and 2) most people aren’t aware of things like this so I just want to bring some attention to it. I do want to add that on their Safety Data Sheet that it says this under inhalation, “Inhalation: If symptoms occur move affected person to fresh air. If not breathing, give artificial respiration. If symptoms persist, get medical attention promptly.” I’m fully aware that this is just a worst case scenario but if Sprouts was spraying water on their produce and not this then it wouldn’t be an issue.

I noticed some comments on social media that said “the ‘other ingredients’ is just water!” or “if it’s on our produce then it has to be safe or they wouldn’t use it!” (poor thing who thinks that). First of all how does ANYONE know what the “other ingredients” are and if it was water then why wouldn’t they say water. This is the same problem we have with Apeel. What are the “other ingredients” and why won’t you tell us! We DESERVE to know and in my opinion have the right to know what is on our food.

Many of us choose to shop at Sprouts because their prices are pretty good, they carry a lot of organic produce and products, too. They don’t sell any produce that contains Apeel on it (ironic). But this is a disappointing. For those of us who choose to buy organic and spend the extra money it’s unfortunate that ProduceMaxx is being used on Sprouts produce.

I have a feeling there might be a part 2 to this article (maybe) as I still want to write more about this and talk more about it. I’m not 100% sure that all Sprouts use this BUT I do have a friend who went to her Sprouts and saw the same bottle of ProduceMaxx but without the label and it was just out in the open connected with a little hose to douse the produce. (here’s her picture from a Sprouts in the Southern California area)

Will I continue to shop at Sprouts? Probably? But I don’t think I want to buy my produce from Sprouts anymore and I don’t want to walk in the produce section. I think the best thing you can do to avoid this (if you want to) is to 1) grow your own garden (not really an option for everyone, myself included at the moment) 2) ask your grocery store what they are spraying on their produce whether it’s a Sprouts or another store. 3) shop at your local farms and farmers markets.

LASTLY… it’s something I never ever thought about before. Why do they even use those misters on the produce? Well the obvious reason is to keep it fresh but another reason is that it can make your produce HEAVIER which means you’re paying more. Perhaps it’s not the main reason it’s just an added bonus to them. Okay so it’s not like it’s doubling the weight of your lettuce but still. I find that to be misleading. It’s probably pennies throughout the year or less than a buck depending on how much produce you’re buying but that adds up over time per person, per year right? So while this is truly the least of my concerns it’s something I never thought about until now.

I really wish our produce didn’t have an ingredient list or warning labels. What do you think?

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