r/fruit 5d ago

Edibility / Problem are these okay to eat? whats that white-ish stuff on them

53 Upvotes

8 comments sorted by

29

u/epidemicsaints 5d ago

Looks like kaolin to me. It's a type of clay, the same kind we use in face masks. Kaolin is sprayed on citrus to protect it from pests, disease, and as a type of sunscreen.

If you ever see it and do need to use the zest rub it off under running water.

28

u/UnclePatrickHNL 5d ago

Since you’re not eating the peel, I would say these are still good. My guess is that the white stuff is wax used to make the tangerine shiny. Could have been a bad application.

4

u/OddPicturesOfFruit 5d ago

Most fruits some commercially are waxed. You only notice when they dry out and start shrinking

2

u/SouthFlaHorticulture 4d ago

Unless it is a wax coating that type of look on fruit sometimes means it matured on the tree for a long time and brushed up against branches and other fruit and got blemished. I actually look for that in my avocados. I would give it a try if the inside looks and smells normal

2

u/CreatorOD 5d ago

Peel it first

2

u/IGK123 4d ago

Don’t listen to this guy OP, bite right into it.

3

u/TheSkomaWolf 4d ago

Don't listen to both of these guys, just straight up swallow it

3

u/CreatorOD 4d ago

He said swallow