Study shows washing strawberries properly can remove up to 98% of harmful fungicide and pesticide residue.

(ALISO VIEJO, CA) – September 12th, 2016. In recent years, consumers have become increasingly aware of the potential risk of pesticide residue on fresh produce, opting to purchase organic fruit and vegetables. Now, in a recent study released from Grow Green Industries, Inc., up to 98% of fungicides such as Carbendazim and neoninicotinoid pesticides such as Imidacloprid, can be removed from whole porous fruit such as strawberries through effective cleaning with Eat Cleaner Fruit + Vegetable Wash.

 

A comprehensive pesticide reduction analysis conducted by Weck Analytical Laboratories, Inc. where a sample group of strawberries were each spiked with 1000 mg/L of Carbendazim and another two groups were spiked with 1000 mg of Imidacloprid to mimic field application. One of each of these groups were treated with a 30 second soak of Eat Cleaner Fruit + Vegetable Wash Spray, and the other group was treated with a 30 second soak of Eat Cleaner Fruit + Vegetable Wash Powder. A control set was rinsed with a 30 second water rinse only. After these treatments, the strawberries were homogenized (pureed) and the entire fruit was extracted to analyze the effectiveness of the various treatments on the interior and exterior.

 

Eat Cleaner Fruit + Vegetable Wash Spray was effective in removing 97% of Carbendazim and 98% of Imidacloprid from the treated strawberries. Eat Cleaner Fruit + Vegetable Wash Powder was effective in removing 95% of Carbendazim and 98% of Imidacloprid from the treated strawberries. The water rinse was 26% effective in removing Carbendazim and 46% effective in removing Imidacloprid. “We concluded that both the Eat Cleaner Fruit + Vegetable Wash Spray and Powder are significantly more effective at removing Imidacloprid and Carbendazim from strawberries than water alone,” noted Brandon Gee, Senior Project Manager, Weck Laboratories Inc.

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“Strawberries were named the most contaminated of all produce items by the Environmental Working Group in 2016. However, organic strawberries represent less than 10% of the market nationwide, and even organic strawberries can be exposed to methyl bromide and other toxic chemicals. This test validates that with proper cleaning of both organic and conventionally-grown strawberries, consumers can feel 100% better about washing pesticide residue away from their fresh produce, whether they’re eating at home or at a restaurant,” commented Mareya Ibrahim, Founder and CEO, Grow Green Industries, Inc.

 

Imidacloprid is an insecticide made to mimic nicotine, and has been linked to the bee collapse due to its high toxicity to honeybees. According to the EPA, it has the potential to leach to ground water. Carbendizim is a suspected endocrine disruptor and is a possible carcinogen according to pesticideinfo.org.

 

“These fungicide and pesticide residues can build up in the body over time and impact health negatively, and some have been linked to cancer and other chronic diseases. Knowing that these can be mitigated with proper washing of a porous fruit such as a strawberry is a very powerful finding,” added Dr. Shawki Ibrahim, Ph.D. Environmental Health Sciences. “Using Eat Cleaner Fruit + Vegetable Wash Spray and Powder is so much more effective than water alone based on Weck Lab’s Conclusion.”

 

For full lab results or to set up an interview with Ms. Ibrahim or Dr. Ibrahim, please contact Leigh-Anne Anderson at T: 310-990-5752 or leighanne@anderson-pr.com.

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About Eat Cleaner®

Eat Cleaner®, a DBA of Grow Green Industries, INC., is the only line of all natural, patented food wash and wipes that is up to 99.99% more effective than water alone in removing the wax, pesticides and residue that can carry bacteria from fresh fruit and vegetables, while extending produce life up to 5x longer. Products are safe, tasteless and odorless on food, and available for both consumer and commercial package sizes. Eat Cleaner is a certified minority woman owned business and products are manufactured in Southern California.

Grow Green Industries Interview with Food Production Daily

 

Questions:
What do you do and who are your main clients? (Please name companies that our readers will know and identify with)

 

Grow Green Industries is a family-owned business that provides US made, patented eco- solutions for food safety and shelf life extension. The company’s innovative, biodegradable products comprise of food grade washes and wipes specifically made for both in-home and commercial use. Eat Cleaner®, eatSafeTM and eatFresh-FCTM are over 99% more effective than water alone in removing pesticides, wax and agricultural residue while extending shelf life over 200% longer. Our largest customer community are young families who are educated, savvy about nutrition, health conscious, and moms that appreciate the value-add that Eat Cleaner® Food Wash & Wipes brings to their grocery budget. Our commercial products, eatSafeTM and eatFresh-FCTM Anti-Browning Solution are popular with produce retailers and large-scale food service programs such as the Los Angeles School District, Albertson’s in Southern California and Fuji Foods. Our products are available at retailers in Southern California such as Albertsons, WholeFoods, Stater Brothers and online through www.EatCleaner.com, www.qvc.com, www.Amazon.com and several other websites.

 

What’s new at the company (this has to be something that has happened within the last six months)?

It has been an exciting last six months with the launch of two new products in both our commercial and consumer line:

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Commercial Line:

eatSafeTM – is an easy and healthy solution for grocery stores, schools and food service operations. eatSafeTM is an all-natural antimicrobial and antioxidant patented spray that improves food safety, removes pesticides, prolongs freshness, and decreases waste. eatSafeTM requires no special handling or machinery and is made in the USA by Grow Green Industries, INC only using safe and organic ingredients. This commercial wash is 99% more effective than water alone in removing pesticide residue, wax and pathogens from fresh produce plus also extends the produce shelf life up to 200%, dramatically diminishing waste and therefore saves money in a market where food prices are increasing across the country due to drought and decreased availability. Grown Green Industries, INC patented formulation is OMRI-listed and Kosher certified. The washes provide lab proven solutions that are safe, effective, and made with FDA- approved GRAS ingredients.

 

The commercial solutions of eatSafeTM come in a one gallon HDPE containers with a one ounce pump dispensers, which are easy to use in any size kitchen or facility. Adding two pumps of eatSafeTM into 5-gallons of water and allowing fruits and vegetables to soak for 2-5 minutes, improve produce smell, taste, chew texture, and leaves produce visibly cleaner. This mix can be re-used up to 3 times, allowing 8,000 pounds of produce to be cleaned in just 1-gallon of diluted eatSafeTM.

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Consumer Line:

New Grab ‘n Go Wipes (32-count) – These new travel wipes launched under the award-winning Eat Cleaner® family of safe and natural food cleaning products. EatCleaner’s Grab ‘n Go Wipes are completely safe to use on fruit and veggies, hands, mouths, utensils–evenbabybinkies! EatCleaner®Grab‘nGoWipesarelabprovenover99%more effective in removing pesticide residue (like organophosphates*) from produce than water alone. Designed with the environment in mind, these wipes are made of biodegradable material and come in a convenient and economical 32-count travel pack. Eat Cleaner® Grab ‘n Go Wipes make healthy snacking and good hygiene on the go enjoyable and so easy. This is a must-have accessory for busy families and professionals on the go.

 

How did this come about?

We are always looking for ways to grow our award-winning line of products and this was a natural progression in both the consumer and commercial ranges. We use a lot of input from our customers and social media conversations who are always sharing inventive ways they are using our products.

 

What does it mean for the firm and how will it change things?

The growth of our commercial and consumer lines means that we are able to offer schools, hotels, hospitals, restaurants and other food service establishments easy-to-use, economical eco- friendly, SAFE products. We want to ensure everyone has access to clean and safe fruits and vegetables without the use of chlorine, alcohol and other potentially corrosive, harmful chemicals that are used in today’s food processing world.

 

What is the one work-related thing that keeps you awake at night and how do you tackle that in your job?

My desire to let the world know that what they’ve been told they should do (wash produce with water only) is not enough. It keeps me up at night because that information is just not true. Countless lab studies have shown rinsing with water alone isn’t enough to remove potentially harmful residues and bacteria. I mean, what else do you rinse with water alone and call clean? Not your hair, not your plates, not your hands – nothing. Most people don’t even drink the water straight out of their faucet! I wish there was a megaphone I could shout into and let everyone know. Instead, I use the internet to create change – social media is my megaphone!

 

What do you see as the main challenge (or game changer) in today’s climate and how can you overcome this?

We think it is important to share the health benefits and value-add our products offer. Additionally, our products are innovative and unique, so explaining the risks of pesticides and food borne illness risk of today’s mass market produce production is important. Our team strives to educate local school districts, food service representatives, mom’s and children in the community and empower them to make the right decisions when it comes to eating a balanced, nutrient dense diet that is comprised of clean and safe produce.

 

What trends do you foresee in the next five years and how will that affect you as a business?

1) The trend towards eating cleaner, “As the pioneer and founder of www.EatCleaner.com my mission has always been to set the record straight about what is on our plates and empower everyone to take matters into their own hands,” share Mareya Ibrahim. “With more and more people finding out what it means to eat cleaner this means we can further grow our business to service the needs of our customers.”

 

2) More consumers considering a plant based diet – “Well with the growth of juicing, raw foods and veganism, we seem to be consuming more and more fresh produce with more chances of getting food borne illness if produce isn’t washed properly. We don’t just use just soap to wash our hands and bodies so why do we think that rinsing produce with just water makes it safe enough to eat? Well this is where Eat Cleaner® comes into the picture to offer a safe, effective, all natural solution to cleaning residue from fresh food that can cause food borne illness, while encouraging families to eat more produce.”

 

3) Growth of the farm to table movement, “We are huge supporters of locally grown and farm to table initiatives. We are just encouraging the proper processing of these foods. On the journey from field to table fresh produce is often sprayed, waxed and touched by over 30 sets of hands,” shares Ibrahim. Grow Green Industries is able to offer an easy and healthy solution for grocery stores, schools and food service operations. The new eatSafeTM commercial removes the risk of food borne illness and washes the footprint of mass production of modern farming. eatSafeTM requires no special handling or machinery and is made in the USA (California) by Grow Green Industries, INC only using safe and organic ingredients.

 

4) Outbreaks of food borne illnesses – Food safety is a real concern. In the last two years…

  • 50 deaths, over 3,000 reported illness from E.coli outbreak associated with fresh Sprouts (Germany), the deadliest recorded outbreak in world history
  • 29 deaths in 28 states and a reported miscarriage from Listeria in Cantaloupes. The second deadliest recorded U.S. outbreak in terms of the number of deaths on record
  • Contaminated papaya was the cause of Salmonella food poisoning in 23 states; 10 people were hospitalized
  • Salmonella cantaloupe affected 20 states, killed two people and hospitalized over 140 people
  • Over 317 persons infected with antibiotic-resistant strains of Salmonella from contaminated chicken. 42% of ill persons were hospitalized.Grow Green’s mission is to educate our community on effectively cleaning food to significantly reduce foodborne illness and offers smart, eco-friendly solutions to ensure these kind of outbreaks are kept at bay.5) School districts diversifying school menus – With the launch of eatSafeTM and eat-Fresh-FCTM we are able to offer school districts with eco-friendly, cost-effective food cleaning solutions that do not need specialized equipment and save time and money by reducing waste. As Wanda Grant, RD, SNS, Child Nutrition Director and Specialist states, “We’re in the business of feeding children, not garbage cans. eatSafeTM is the first all-natural, nontoxic product that we can use in School Nutrition Programs to ensure that our Farm to School and all produce we receive can be washed to ensure the safety of our fruits and vegetables. I have been in School Nutrition for over 40 years and have always struggled with how to wash produce effectively without exposing our employees to toxic, closed system chemicals. eatSafeTM is that answer.” eatSafeTM is the second product release of eatFesh-FCTM, is Grow Green Industries, INC anti-browning solution and is used by the Los Angeles Unified School District, Albertsons and Fuji Foods. With the latest launch of eatSafeTM, Grow Green Industries, INC is providing all natural solutions for effective produce washing, shelf life extension for prepared dips and salads and anti-browning for cut fruit in their two-step product use process.
  • What’s next for you? Any major announcements/expansions/closures? We are delighted to share a recent alignment with heavy weight champion George Foreman. Our products, EAT CLEANER® has been selected as the first ‘George Foreman Favorites’ on his newly launched website at www.georgeforeman.com. Foreman and his family are big believers in ‘eating clean’ and hand- selected EAT CLEANER® products, Co-invented and patented by Mareya Ibrahim, The Fit Foodie, for their ability to knock out pesticides, wax, and residue that can cause food borne illnesses, and is over 99.9% more effective than rinsing with water alone. EAT CLEANER® is theonly lab proven, patented, all natural line of products that wash and extend the shelf life of produce simultaneously.

 

“We couldn’t be more thrilled to be aligned with George Foreman, his family and his tremendous brand. As an athlete and role model, George exemplifies the qualities we uphold. Together, we will have a tremendous platform for reaching families everywhere to help them enjoy cleaner, safer produce,” commented Ibrahim.

 

Do you have an opinion on any of the emerging markets in China, South America, the Middle East? Does it affect you in any way or do you hope to reach out to that market?

 

We are a global economy and our products are being requested in many other parts of the world. Our Eat Cleaner® products are now available in parts of the Middle East, Japan, Russia and hopefully soon, Central and South America. Our commercial solutions create an ideal opportunity for international produce processors to create safer products that last longer for international export.

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In The Press

 

Lake Forest, CA – eatSafeTM is the latest innovation in food safety from Grow Green Industries, INC. A four-times concentrated produce wash, eatSafeTM removes 99% of harmful pathogens such as eColi, Salmonella and Listeria and is specifically designed for commercial and food service use.

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On the journey from field to table fresh produce is sprayed, waxed and touched by over 30 sets of hands. An easy and healthy solution for grocery stores, schools and food service operation is eatSafeTM an all-natural antimicrobial and antioxidant patented spray that improves food safety and freshness. eatSafeTM requires no special handling or machinery and is made in the USA by Grow Green Industries, INC only using safe and organic ingredients.

 

eatSafeTM is 99% more effective than water alone in removing pesticide residue, wax and pathogens from fresh produce plus also extends the produce shelf life up to 200% diminishing waste and saving money. Grown Green Industries, INC patented formulation is OMRI-listed and Kosher certified and provides lab proven solutions that are safe, effective and made with FDA-approved GRAS ingredients.

 

Easy to use eatSafeTM comes in a one gallon HDPE container with a one ounce pump dispenser, which can be used in any size kitchen or facility. By adding just two pumps of eatSafeTM into 5-gallons of water and allowing fruits and vegetables to soak for 2-5 minutes, fresh produce is visibly cleaner, has a better smell, taste and mouth feel. This mix can be re-used up to 3 times, allowing 8,000 pounds of produce to be cleaned in just 1-gallon of diluted eatSafeTM.

 

Wanda Grant, RD, SNS, Child Nutrition Director and Specialist states, “We’re in the business of feeding children, not garbage cans. eatSafeTM is the first all-natural, nontoxic product that we can use in School Nutrition Programs to ensure that our Farm to School and all produce we receive can be washed to ensure the safety of our fruits and vegetables. I have been in School Nutrition for over 40 years and have always struggled with how to wash produce effectively without exposing our employees to toxic, closed system chemicals. eatSafeTM is that answer.”

 

eatSafeTM is the second product release of eatFesh-FCTM, is Grow Green Industries, INC anti-browning solution and is used by the Los Angeles Unified School District, Albertsons and Fuji Foods. With the latest launch of eatSafeTM, Grow Green Industries, INC is providing all natural solutions for effective produce washing, shelf life extension for prepared dips and salads and anti-browning for cut fruit in their two-step product use process.

 

Launching this month eatSafeTM is the latest innovation in food safety technology and available for purchase through Grow Green Industries, INC.

For press materials, samples or further information, please contact Leigh-Anne Anderson at 310.990.5752 or leighanne@andersonmillerpr.com.

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About Grow Green Industries, INC

Grow Green Industries, INC, is a Southern California based company dedicated to eco solutions for food safety and are the creators of a range of all natural, patented products for commercial and consumer applications, including eatCleaner®, eatFresh® and eatSafe®. Grow Green Industries, INC. is a minority woman owned business.

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Newport-Mesa USD Provides Safer Foods to Students

 

Five years ago, an OC-based company called Grow Green Industries, Inc, introduced a line of fruit and vegetable wash and wipes called Eat Cleaner that removes pesticides, waxes and surface debris that can carry bacteria from commercially and organically grown produce. It also removes surface debris that can carry bacteria from seafood and poultry.

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Eat Cleaner was the first all-natural, odorless and tasteless, lab tested food wash, and it made a big impact on the consumer market.

 

“By the time it reaches our plates, most food has traveled around 1,500 miles and touched 20 sets of hands,” said Mareya Ibrahim, founder of Grow Green. “There are over 78 million reported cases of foodborne illness in the U.S. every year and an average of 30 different pesticides used on our produce. I have two young children and as a concerned mom, we created Eat Cleaner to be affordable, effective and easy-to-use. It also helps prolong the shelf life of food up to 100 percent longer, helping consumers save money, and deters browning, boosting the appetite appeal of fruit like apples and pears that tend to turn quickly once cut.”

 

Now, Ibrahim’s company has taken the Eat Cleaner approach to another level.

 

When classes started this week at all 30 schools in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District, the kitchens were equipped with a new eco-solution called eatSafe, aimed at providing cleaner and safer produce to students.eatSafe Produce Wash is lab proven to remove up to 99.99 percent of harmful pathogens such as E.coli, Salmonella and Listeria, pesticide residue, and wax, while extending fruit and vegetable shelf life up to 200 percent longer. It is specifically designed for commercial and food service use.

 

An easy and healthy solution for grocery stores, schools and food service operations, eatSafe all-natural antimicrobial and antioxidant wash concentrate improves produce safety and freshness, requires no special handling or machinery, and is made in the U.S. with safe and organic ingredients.

 

Dale Ellis, RD, MBA, and Director of Nutrition Services for Newport-Mesa Unified School District, said, “We are looking forward to a new school year with ‘cleaner’ produce to offer our students. After the first use of eatSafe, I was sold on the improved appearance of certain fruit and vegetables, because as you know we eat with our eyes.”

 

“We couldn’t be more thrilled about the implementation of eatSafe district-wide for Newport-Mesa. As a mom, the health and well-being of kids everywhere is one of our company’s highest priorities. Children are more prone to foodborne illness, which makes cleaner produce that much more important,” said Ibrahim.

For more info, visit eatcleaner.com

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