EASY PEELERS

This week, I bought a bag of 'easy peelers'. They're mandarins apparently, though it only says so in small letters by the bar code.

In larger letters, the packet declares that 'easy peelers' are 'great for kids'.

I never once stopped to ask how you go about growing a fruit to be an easy peeler. The only thing I can think of is that these little orange bundles of fun have been genetically modified somehow to have weak binding between the flesh and the skin.

The only other clue to their origins and growth mechanism (other than that they were produced in South Africa) is written in even tinier letters:

Treated with imazalil, thiabendazole, 2-phenylphenol and  pyrimethanil.

"Hello Wikipedia," I said to myself as I clicked it open.

Imazalil (also called enilconazole) is a fungicide used to preserve citrus fruits in transit.

"In 1999, based on studies in rodents, enilconazole was identified as "likely to be carcinogenic in humans" under The Environmental Protection Agency's Draft Guidelines for Carcinogenic Assessment."

Thiabendazole?

"Effects on humans from use as a drug include nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, diarrhea, dizziness, drowsiness, or headache; very rarely also ringing in the ears, vision changes, stomach pain, yellowing eyes and skin, dark urine, fever, fatigue, increased thirst and change in the amount of urine occur."

2-Phenylphenol - used in disinfectants and can cause eye damage.

Meanwhile Pyrimethanil is a pesticide which is possibly an eye-irritant, a respiratory tract irritant and an endocrine disrupter, which in high doses could be a liver, kidney, adrenals, bladder and thyroid toxicant.

You know what though: despite all of that, they're still really difficult to peel. My thumbnails have turned sticky and orange.

Great for kids, eh?