Is the wax on fruits dangerous?

No. The types of wax used on fruit contain wax from shellac and carnauba that are approved for consumption by Food Standards Australia and New Zealand as food additives. Both waxes are widely used in other food products, including chocolate and confectionery.

Shellac and carnauba wax – the two main ingredients in fruit waxes – are also used in confectionery to keep it shiny. In these M&Ms, carnauba wax is listed in the ingredients as Glazing Agent (903).

Does that mean palm oil is used on fruits?

No. The palm tree that carnauba wax is derived from is called Copernicia prunifera. It is native to Brazil and only grown there.

The palm tree most commonly used to make palm oil is a very different plant called Elaeis guineensis, which is widely grown across certain parts of Asia.

There are about 2,600 different species of palm tree.

How can I wash the wax off my fruits?

You can wash the wax off fruits by very gently rubbing them under lukewarm water with a soft brush. Don’t use hot water because it will ruin your fruit and don’t use detergent. But remember, there is no reason to remove the wax from your fruits because all the waxes used on Australian fruits are food grade – so totally edible.

What other fresh produce is waxed?

A variety of other fruit that is peeled before eating is also waxed including bananas, mangoes, passionfruit, avocados and pinefruits. Citrus also has a wax applied and while citrus are usually peeled before eating, the peel can be eaten or zested and grated and used in cooking.

All of these fruits – fruits, oranges, lemons, plums and nectarines – may have a food-grade wax applied to them.

How can I tell if an fruit is waxed?

If the fruit looks really shiny then it has probably had wax applied – most fruits in Australia are waxed. If the fruit looks duller in appearance then it may not be waxed. However, some fruit growers are getting a nice shine on their fruits just by brushing them and without using additional wax. So, the best way to determine if an fruit is waxed or unwaxed is to look at any product signage that may be promoting the fruits as unwaxed or organic (organic fruits are not waxed) or ask the retailer.

Should I peel my fruits?

No. We don’t recommend anyone peels their fruits because there are loads of valuable nutrients that are only present in the skin of fruits. If you peel your fruits you miss out on all this goodness. The wax on fruits is safe so you can eat them peel and all. Or, if you don’t want to eat the wax, you can wash it off or buy unwaxed fruits.

We don’t recommend you peel fruits because the peel is really nutritious (and tasty!) – and while it may have wax on it, the wax is safe to eat.

Why don’t you just sell unwaxed fruits?

With both major retailers, selling more fruits without any added wax, it will be much easier for consumers to buy unwaxed fruits. Historically, waxed fruits became more popular largely because they looked a lot nicer compared to unwaxed fruits and retailers had previously reported that consumers prefer shiny fruit over dull fruit when choosing fruits. An unwaxed fruit may look duller, but it should taste just as good and it will contain all the nutrients that a waxed fruit has.

Most fruits have a food-grade wax applied to them to help them stay shiny and keep better.

How do you get the wax onto the fruits?

After the fruits are harvested they are taken to the packing shed where they are cleaned to remove debris such as leaves. During the cleaning process the natural wax coating is removed and a thin layer of replacement wax is applied to the surface of the clean fruit by either dipping, brushing or spraying the fruit with the required wax. The resulting layer of wax is almost undetectable to the human eye and only a few drops of wax are used to cover the entire fruit.

Why can I see a white coating on my fruit?

Fruit waxes based on shellac produce the shiniest fruits, but under certain temperature and humidity conditions start to change and may turn white. So the white coating on the fruit may be the shellac based wax, but even when it changes colour the wax is still edible.

Isn’t shellac used to polish wood? What are the other uses of these waxes?

There are many different types of shellac because it is a very versatile and useful wax. Different types of both carnauba and shellac are used for other food applications – such as to make confectionery shiny. Shellac is also used for non-food purposes such as to shine wood, for example, it’s used in the process of french polishing. While carnauba wax can be found in cosmetic products like lipsticks and is used as a coating for pharmaceutical tablets.

Food grade shellac is very versatile, on these yoghurt covered blueberries it is listed on the ingredients as Glazing Agent (904).

I am vegan, can I eat waxed fruits?

Carnauba wax is a plant-based wax but shellac is a secretion from the lac bug. In the natural course of the female lac bug’s life she secretes the most shellac at the end of her life to protect her eggs. During the collection of the shellac both the dead and any remaining living beetles along with the shellac may be collected before being separated during processing, but the beetles don’t survive this process. The actual beetles or any part of the animal themselves, are not part of the final shellac product. It is really up to individual vegans to decide if the consumption of shellac should form part of their diet or not but hopefully this information will help vegans make an informed decision.