Q: Is the e-mail going around true that says that baby carrots are made from “deformed carrots” and soaked in chlorine, and that the white blush on them is the chlorine surfacing?

A: There are a lot of inaccuracies in this e-mail. The University of California-Berkeley shared the real facts in their February issue of the Wellness Letter. When first marketed in the 1980s, baby carrots were cut from misshapen (not nutritionally inferior) carrots to salvage them. But today they are cut and tapered from specially bred carrots and are more accurately called “baby-cut” carrots. Genuine baby carrots, which are harder to find and expensive, are harvested very young and may retain some greens at the top.

Like other ready-to-eat fresh vegetables, baby-cut carrots are rinsed or sprayed with very diluted chlorine to reduce the risk of bacterial contamination, and then thoroughly washed and bagged. This process is approved by the FDA and accepted by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, with strict rules for what concentration of chlorine can be used and how long the carrots can be exposed. Chlorine is similarly used as a disinfectant in public water supplies and sometimes in poultry processing. It is toxic at high concentrations, but there’s no evidence that trace amounts left on food and in water are harmful to health.

The whitening that may occur has nothing to do with chlorine. According to Luke Laborde, associate professor food science at Penn State University, it is caused by drying of the damaged (peeled) tissue as the carrots are exposed to air. During storage air can dry out the surface of carrots due to lack of humidity. The carrots may also shrivel due to the lack of moisture. In contrast, whole carrots retain their protective peel, so it takes longer for this problem to occur in them.

It’s also interesting to learn about some new research that’s currently going on with carrots. To help boost calcium intake, researchers from the USDA-ARS Children’s Nutrition Research Center have found that calcium can be added to carrots and other vegetables. In this study, researchers had to determine the bioavailability to see if the calcium is absorbed into the body. Volunteers consumed the modified carrots or regular carrots. Urine samples were then collected. The results showed that the modified carrots increased calcium intake by 41 percent. Carrots and other fruits and vegetables with added calcium can allow consumers to eat the produce they enjoy and increase calcium intake. We drink orange juice that has calcium added. Who knows, in the future, we may be eating carrots that also have calcium added.

— Susan Krumm is an Extension agent in family and consumer sciences with K-State Research and Extension-Douglas County, 2110 Harper St. She can be reached at 843-7058.