3 Reasons Why Grocery Stores Have Misters Over the Produce (2024)

FAQs

3 Reasons Why Grocery Stores Have Misters Over the Produce? ›

Grocery stores have to spray their produce to increase their shelf life, reduce spoilage, and increase their weight.

According to the New York Times, some vegetables require some mist to keep from wilting, so this practice can extend shelf life (as long as it isn't overdone!) and keep you from ingesting bacteria-laden rotten food. Whether you think the practice is sneaky or smart is up to you, but one thing's for sure.

Spraying produce with water makes the concentration of water outside their cells greater than the concentration inside the cells. Water will diffuse into the cells of the produce by osmosis. This causes the produce to look more full and less wilted.

Well it turns out it's really more for marketing. Retailers want to create a shopping experience where you find the produce at its most appealing and the droplets of water on the lettuce leaves can bring about images of produce growing in the fields and covered with raindrops.

Why do grocery store owners spray fresh fruits and vegetables with water? This is done to prevent wilting or plasmolysis. In order for plants to thrive, they must maintain the correct amount of Turgor Pressure (water pressure inside plant cells).

Supermarkets, as a rule, don't wash produce before putting it out, but many stores mist it while its on display. Misting keeps the produce from drying. Small amounts of surface residues do drain off, but may not be enough.

Because misting systems release large amounts of water into the air, they can be used as more than just cooling systems. If the water droplets are released into an enclosed space the humidity levels quickly rise. Misting systems can be used as effective humidifiers in many situations.

For most fruits and veggies, your goal is to minimize moisture to reduce the growth of bacteria. But for some, storing them in water can actually help them last longer. Produce in the fridge should go in an airtight container to protect it from the cool dry air the appliance blows. If you have a produce drawer, use it!

When water is sprayed onto the vegetables, the water is hypotonic to the insides of the vegetable cells, meaning this water flows into the more concentrated cell interiors via osmosis.

As it turns out, it could be a product called Produce Maxx. This substance isn't just confined to the misting sprays at select grocery stores; it's even used in pre-cut fruit! It serves various purposes, including misting, crisping treatment, and washing.

What chemicals do they spray on vegetables? ›

Four of the five pesticides found most frequently on the Dirty Dozen are fungicides: fludioxonil, pyraclostrobin, boscalid and pyrimethanil. Fungicides are applied on fruits and vegetables to prevent or kill fungal diseases like powdery mildew.

Because of osmosis, water sprayed on vegetables will cross the cell wall, enter the plant cells, and plump them up. This makes vegetables look fresh and crisp instead of wilted and sad.

Fresh vegetables are sprayed with water at a market, to allow the water to diffuse into the vegetable to give the vegetable a look of plumpness. This translates into an appearance of freshness due to the water diffusing into the vegetable.

Too much moisture can cause fruits and vegetables to go bad quickly. Wait until you're ready to eat them before you wash them. If you need to wash them ahead of time, dry them thoroughly before you store them. Prewashed, bagged vegetables don't generally need additional cleaning.

When the vegetables are cut from the plant, there is a loss of water and they dehydrate. The water is sprinkled on the vegetables to provide them moisture which is absorbed due to endosmosis. The water moves inside the cell and allows the vegetables to remain fresh for a long time.

Grocery stores only use treated water to spray their produce. The water goes through a filtration process to remove any impurities that could harm human health. Additionally, the water is also treated with chlorine to kill any bacteria that could be present in the water.

I bet not a lot of people realize they're organic produce is being sprayed with chlorine. A lot of people go out of their way to avoid chlorine. People pay extra money to buy organic produce that has not been sprayed with chlorine. Then the grocery store goes and sprays it with chlorine.

Hint: The vegetables need water in order to stay fresh and intact. After being cut from the trees, they lose their water supply and suffer dehydration. Therefore, the vendor sprinkles water on the vegetables to keep them fresh.

Misting systems hydrate and reduce spoilage of produce on display in the service case and while in cold storage. A specialised mist system is the key to prevent weight loss, shrinkage and deterioration of chemical composition to keep your produce looking fresh and appetizing.