Dates from Costco-Malathion??

[Marin Mom]

I bought a huge container of Medjool dates from Costco, not organic. The price was too good to pass up but when I wrote the company that distributed them what chemicals were used for treating the dates this was an excerpt of the response. I guess I will have to toss them now and go for the organic. Just FYI for anyone interested.

Cindy


During the growing phase, some (not all) of our date growers dust with Malathion dust. This is done several weeks prior to harvest.

A very tiny portion of the dates have been exposed to ordinary sulphur dust, the kind of elemental sulphur that is mined from the ground. This is not typically done to Medjool dates but is done to other date varieties that may be harvested in some of the same large grove bins.

At the packinghouse, all the fruit is fumigated with Methyl Bromide gas. This is a very commonly used food fumigant and we have been successfully using it for decades and decades with zero complaint or difficulty.

[amyambro1]

those big chemical words just don't mesh well with me. I wouldn't want to get near those dates with a 10-foot pole, and people eat them with no idea! YIKES!! I cannot imagine what they use on some of the non-organic food I buy. I don't even want to know. I just eat as little non-organic as possible. Thanks for posting that!

[themindless]

would veggie spray or anything make the non organic foods a little better?

[kaybee]

ack. i bet thats about the same thing that has happened to the non-organic ones from trader joes. i passed up the organic because you could get double the amount of non organic for the same price.... BAD choice. i have been wondering about the chemicals on them because after eating them i end up with a stuffy nose, sore throat, cold-like symptoms, that last until the next morning... its got to be the chemicals because when i get organic dates from whole foods or the coop this doesnt happen... and i noticed the same thing over the summer when i got non-organic ones from tesco in the uk...

worst thing about the pesticides is that in the case of dates are they even washed before packing? other fruit you can easily wash after you get it, but dates you cant, so i wonder if they still have all those pesticide dustings havent even been rinsed off!! ack.

[applegirl]

I bought the same container, noooo.
it was just too good a huge tub for 7 bucks or something like that. what to do now :(

[SmilingRawDancer]

I bought them too....and I'm using them.

[ski bumette]

hmmmmmm I got a container from my local store (the only place I've seen them) and cost me $10.00 and they're not organic unfortunately. I really wanted them even tho they were costly. The other dates are horrible. I tried using them last time I was raw and swore I'd never do that again. Now I'm wondering what was used on them, probably the same as the Costco ones....oh dear......sighhhhh Get you from all sides don't they.

[Marin Mom]

Yes the Costco ones were 7.00 for that big 'ole tub. I did get a much smaller quantity from Whole Foods for 5.99 and although the tubs were not marked organic, the guy in the produce dept. showed me the crate they came in that was marked organic, they just didn't update their labels.

[luckitri]

Food dumping. I guess it pays to be suspicious every time there is a low price. After Chernobyl, European shoppers were using radiation detectors on the supermarket produce but I saw caviar and blackberry jams being dumped for unbeleivably low prices on unsuspecting U.S. market.

[Gittel]

Costco will accept returns, even on open and partially used products.

Gittel

[spicyfull]

Great info. Thanks for Sharing......

[salexander421]

I'm pretty sure grapes are fumigated in the same way, and I'm sure a lot of produce is.

[Traceyraw]

OMG. I am throwing mine away. There not from Cosco but they are not organic. I usually don't wash them either. Thanks for the heads up. I just love those sweet fruits.

[Saria]

I was considering buying some dates, too. But i didn't. I was planning on getting organic ones until I saw the difference in price....Thanks so much for posting this because now I remember once again why I always try to get organic!!