thai coconut dangers??????

[VeganVixen]

Hey I was talking to my old boss (I worked for her healthfood store,but she moved and it had to close) shes like my mother/sister/best freind,anyways :p ....

she said that young thai coconuts are bleached and dipped in formaldahyde :eek: -yuck!!! think about it - young coconuts DO breathe (in my opinion anyways) and I could see that junk getting to the food product :mad: !!!!

.......she says this is what alot of people say ,so the info MIGHT be wrong -but she knows ALOT of produce managers and farmers ,so she says that they are reliable sources -Im so glad I have never had one -I will stick to the dark and lighter coconuts ,just thought I would pass along the info :o !!!

sorry to you guys who love em :(

[Elizabeth]

That is not good. :eek: They taste so-o-o-o good too. I do not eat them often, but I do love one in a smoothie every once in a while.

I am assuming there is no such thing as an Organic Thai Coconut...at least not in the States.

I have read that many Raw fooders make them a staple in the diet....that would seem to be a problem, if this formaldehyde news is accurate.

Does anyone know more about this??? And whether there is a source for organic or at least "un-formaldehyded" young coconuts?

[SedonaSun]

I just did a google search and found this in the Tree of Life Cafe Newsletter (www.treeoflife.nu). I cannot attest to the reliability of the info, of course...

Here are 10 reasons why we have chosen not to purchase or consume young Thai coconuts.


NON-ORGANIC Thai coconuts are not certified organic. Information that they are grown organically may not be true. From articles online it seems that fertilizer & pesticides are used in coconut farming. Therefore we would be supporting a non organic industry and ingesting non organic chemicals. Some companies claim to be organic, read a recent email communication, since writing this article.
FUNGICIDE DIP. Many coconuts are dipped for 5 minutes in a fungicide solution (such as formaldehyde or sodium metabisulphate) before exporting. This is to eliminate mold and bacteria during the "6-week" shipping process.
IRRADIATION Many feel that they may be irradiated during shipping process.
HYBRIDIZATION A thai coconut is actually not a true coconut. Someone crossed a coconut palm with a date palm through pollination. This makes them incredibly sweet.
SUSTAINABILITY What is the real impact of importing coconuts from thailand? Fair trade labor, high food miles and chemical usage.
LABOR Highly labor intensive when opening in a commercial setting. High labor in harvest, shaving, packaging , storage, distribution and shipping.
LOW QUALITY Over 30% are usually rotten. This indicated by a purple colored pulp/ water, black spots and pink on the outer husk.
AVAILABILTY High reliance on them creates an over dominance in raw food diet. Variety is key!
EDUCATION How many average people have access in their local environment to fresh ones?
COMPOSTING Difficult to compost and process in a commercial/ home setting.

It is possible to find wild organic young coconuts:

Eat them in the country of origin: Hawaii, Phillipines, Mexico, Yucatan, Figi, Florida, India, Sri Lanka, Bali, Indonesia - They are sooo much better, lower sugar, higher minerals.
Buy Florida coconuts from http://www.greencoconuts.com/
Buy air shipped coconuts from http://www.thepurefoodnetwork.org
Find a way to bring them in from Mexico.

[Elizabeth]

Thanks sedona Sun for the info. and the links! :D

I am going to get some from the Prefood network...but I have to wait a bit. they are pricey aren't they..but better to pay that than to be poisoned. :eek: Also, I have had to throw out coconuts that were bad..also avocados with black straks and clumps. I am thinking that I might try to go all organic..I might end up saving $$ in less waste, although yesterday i bought two organic oranges and one was black in the middle and the other was kind of dehydrated..not juice at all and a bit too fibrous. Go figure :rolleyes:

I am also thinking of getting some Durian.

Blessings.....

[Revvell]

These two quotes seem to contradict each other. As far as sodium metabisulphate I am highly allergic to that and would be having asthma attacks if this were so.

Not saying it can't be yet....dayum! decisions, decisions!!!!

Thanks for the info ~

Injoy ~

Revvell




FUNGICIDE DIP. Many coconuts are dipped for 5 minutes in a fungicide solution (such as formaldehyde or sodium metabisulphate) before exporting. This is to eliminate mold and bacteria during the "6-week" shipping process.

LOW QUALITY Over 30% are usually rotten. This indicated by a purple colored pulp/ water, black spots and pink on the outer husk.

[Elizabeth]

These two quotes seem to contradict each other. As far as sodium metabisulphate I am highly allergic to that and would be having asthma attacks if this were so.

Not saying it can't be yet....dayum! decisions, decisions!!!!

Thanks for the info ~

Injoy ~

Revvell

I don't see that the two comments are contradictory. the coconuts are dipped for the purpose of preventing the mold, etc., during the lengthy shipping process...it does not speak to the relative success of the dipping and does not mean that none of them will mold. Also, the coconuts on the shelves in markets could have been there for weeks or longer( in addition to the lengthy shipping time)...and the outside could appear fresher than the coconut actually is.


As far as your allergy goes..the coconuts you have eaten may have been dipped in something other than metabisulphate....that is only one of the possible solutions used in their processing.


I have gotten some off coconuts..and have eaten some I probably should have thrown away. I think I am going to try the organic....as an occasional treat. :)

Blessings....

[Revvell]

I have gotten some "off" coconuts too ~ as well as organic avocados, apples, peaches and every other kind of fruit/veggie one can name.

Not saying the info is not good and, since I am eating at the highest level possible, I will probably follow your lead on this Elizabeth. $5 per coconut? sheesh!!!

Injoy ~

Revvell

[Punky]

Drats! I really enjoy my young coconuts.
If this is true (and most likely is) I will curtail my intake.
I eat about 1-3 a week currently. It is very hard (for me anyways) to open
the coconut without getting a few small slivers of the outside in the milk
as I drain them. I am always picking out the small pieces and I know
I miss a couple. I do not like the thought of ingesting
formaldahyde after all this work of detoxing and $ spent on all my other organic foods.
I will look into some of the links for the fresh coconuts from Florida too.
Maybe I will use the coconut butter/oil in my smoothies to replace
the young coconuts I use. In the meantime I will cut down to just 1 young
coconut a week till I research more. My boys love them too in their
smoothies. double drats.... :(
what to do what to do :confused:

[Elizabeth]

I hate that when I spend the $$ on Organic and it is bad. I am thinking of taking my receipt in for my two oranges. LOL It is a matter of principle. :p

I am on my fifth day of eating mostly only fruit and I am finding that I don't need as much food as I was eating before. I am going to focus on making every bite I take, and every thing I drink be the most healthful, clean food possible.

5 $$ is a lot though....I was wondering how long the organic ones last in the fridge. We would probably save on shipping at least if we placed larger, less frequent orders.


Any ideas on that anyone???

[Amethyst_Rain]

do you guys think that the formaldahyde and other chemicals leak through into the nut or not? maybe if you're just careful opening them and don't touch them with your bare hands...i don't know if it would leak through the shell is pretty tough...hmmmm???

[catherinethegreat]

http://www.thepurefoodnetwork.org/catalog/index.php

Looks like these folks sell chemical free thai cocnuts and other things like durian fruit.

I haven't used them yet but it looks like a wonderful thing they are doing.


This is what they said about why young thai coconuts are treated with chemicals....very interesting

"Many of you have asked us to import young Thai coconuts that have not undergone the usual bleaching and fungicide treatments. The young coconuts currently made available by Asian markets are imported by boat. The transit time is somewhere between three to four weeks. To withstand the molding that would unavoidably develop during that time, coconuts have to be treated in Thailand prior to shipping. Our young coconuts are flown in which gives us a transit time of about 30 hours, so no treatment is required. Transportation by airplane is unfortunately much more expensive than by boat, which means that it will not be possible for us to meet the prices of the usual Asian providers."


*c

[asil]

Well, phooey, another level of complication. But aren't a number of imported fruits treated in this fashion? I though magoes and papayas were too?

So I grow an organic garden, use no pesticides whatsoever anywhere in my house, no commercial cleansers, no soap, shampoo, commercial skin products, use only a bit of organic make-up, limit the use of plastics, use only henna (what a pain) in my hair.

What I can't grow, I buy organic if at all possible.

So if I eat a few questionable young coconuts, maybe I won't worry so much. I live in an impure world and I'm just doing my best. Compared to a few years ago, when I cleaned my house with noxious chemicals, regularly had my hair colored and highlighted,
ate chips and Diet Cokes, I'm practically a monk :).

[vegangelist]

yep, a couple months ago I mentioned this very thing in one of my posts....guess it got overlooked b/c no one responded with much distress about it ;)

i would love to be able to find a LOCAL source for non-formaldehyde thai coconuts...but alas, have not done so yet :(

kristi

[SedonaSun]

do you guys think that the formaldahyde and other chemicals leak through into the nut or not? maybe if you're just careful opening them and don't touch them with your bare hands...i don't know if it would leak through the shell is pretty tough...hmmmm???

There was a post a month or more ago about how coconut water used to be used during past wars as emergency plasma for the injured because it is so close to our own plasma. (Googling "coconut transfusion" or something similar will net many results.) The husk and the shell act as a filter to keep the water sterile or close to it from what I understand and remember.

How they withstand against formaldehyde (seeing as how they were created to withstand nature's attacks, not man's) I couldn't tell you and wouldn't venture a guess, but wanted to mention the above.

*Vegangelist, sorry we missed your post. I don't remember seeing it. Must've slipped by us in stealth-post mode :confused:

[PixieGreen]

SedonaSun, I read it was used during the Pearl Harbor invasion because they ran out of plasma and native coconuts were abundant. So they weren't imported by boat and therefore weren't treated.

Christa

[flutterfly]

Wouldn't you just know that after 1 1/2 years I just found young coconuts two days ago. Darn!!!

[Amethyst_Rain]

i think i'm just gonna keep eating them...i think the chemicals probably don't penetrate the nut...i mean there is the thick layer of husk and then the shell...it's probably ok


and i love them :)

[SedonaSun]

SedonaSun, I read it was used during the Pearl Harbor invasion because they ran out of plasma and native coconuts were abundant. So they weren't imported by boat and therefore weren't treated.

Christa


You're right... I didn't make myself clear enough in my ramblings. :) I mean the husk and shell act as a natural filter against elements that nature throws at it--good enough to be used as plasma in a pinch. But now that man is throwing formaldehyde into the mix, I haven't a clue if the husk and shell were created to be able to withstand man's chemical intervention. Every time we mess with mother nature, we're headed for trouble... why don't we all just get that?? (I know *we* do, but not those who stand to make a buck from it.)

[Doe]

Coconuts also grow in Florida and I believe California, so there should be comercial growers of them here. If we could get a grower from here to sell young coconuts wouldn't they be the same except without the long shipping time and the need for preservatives?

[VeganVixen]

Im not SURE but I think that the younger white coconuts are better than the brown ones and NOT messed(lol I HAVE a better word,but I hate to cuss) with.

[RawTruth]

Coconuts also grow in Florida and I believe California, so there should be comercial growers of them here. If we could get a grower from here to sell young coconuts wouldn't they be the same except without the long shipping time and the need for preservatives?

There are palm trees here. Is that what you're thinking of? There is no coconut grown as a crop here, though. It requires a tropical climate, not Mediterranean. Good try!


It is very hard (for me anyways) to open
the coconut without getting a few small slivers of the outside in the milk
as I drain them. I am always picking out the small pieces and I know
I miss a couple.

Just stick a straw in a drink it through the straw. That'll eliminate much of the bits.

I'm not ready to give 'em up, yet, myself. When I've experienced prolonged intestinal detox a few times, the coconut water was great at replacing electroytes.

[JustMe]

I wouldn't mind getting the mature coconuts, but does it have formaldehyde too? also, does the water from a mature coconut have the same electrolyte and nutritional benefits as the young ones?

Thanks!!

[RawTruth]

A mature coconut is very different than a young Thai coconut -- no water and the flesh inside isn't custardy. As to how they're treated on the outside .... dunno.

[Doe]

Thank you Raw Truth. You're right, I was talking about all the palms I've seen in pictures of CA.

[RawTruth]

The palm trees out here grow actors.

[rawpriestess]

Well, I am so happy, that I am not a coconut lover
Now, I know why I intuitively never felt they were right for me.