What did you do to my nanners?

My bananas have what on them?

I've been buying some bananas at Aldi's lately, simply for the ease of getting them while getting what pasta and rice we get at an affordable price. I must say they've been very good at selling them to me at amazing prices. Less than $1.00 a bunch, or 16.00 a case. And they taste good too. Really good, much better than some other ones I've gotten.

As I was looking at the case today to make sure I was eating the ripest ones, I found this on the side :

What are these things and why are they on my bananas? Let's look at thiabendazole first. It's an anti fungal treatment to keep the bananas from getting some kind of fungus or root rot. That makes sense. I don't want my bananas to start rotting or growing some kind of mushrooms in the case before I can eat them. But what else does this product do?

The substance appears to have a slight toxicity in higher doses, with effects such as liver and intestine disorder at high exposure in test animals. Some reproductive disorders and decreasing weanling weight have been observed, also at high exposure. Effects on humans from use as drug includes 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. No mutagenic or carcinogenic effects have been shown.

So first we have an antifungal that can cause all kinds of nasty side effects, even lower fertility and weaning weight in children/animals. That to me is disturbing. Next, there is imazalil. Imazalil is both a fungicide AND a pesticide. It's a linked carcinogen, causes infertility, acutely toxic, and did I mention carcinogen!

So here we have two chemicals put on my bananas to make sure their fresh. But according to current research they aren't just on the outside. Even in oranges and bananas with their thick outer skin, they are finding levels of this substance in the flesh of the fruit!

So look very carefully at your fruits and veggies. I for one don't want to be putting cancer causing agents in my body when I think I'm getting healthy food. I also don't want to lower my reproductive ability or get any of those nasty side effects above from eating something I love.