Snack your way to good health

You know the old adage: “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” Well, that’s actually some sound advice! Here’s why: eating one large apple provides 20% of the daily recommended value of dietary fibre, 8% of the antioxidant Vitamin C, and 7% of your day’s potassium, all for only 130 calories!

You could start with Washington Apples, which are known worldwide for their beauty and crunch.

Grown in lush orchards in the north-western US state of Washington, each Washington Apple is picked by hand, thereby keeping the fruit non bruised. Some of the common varieties are Red Delicious, Gala, Fuji, and Granny Smith—now readily available in India.

As dietary experts recommend eating two cups of fruit every day, you can easily achieve this by eating one large or two small Washington Apples.

Sumit Saran, India representative of Washington Apple Commission, says, “In the last few years, India has catapulted to being the third largest market for Washington Apples, the top two being Mexico and Canada. This is a clear reflection of the aspirations of Indians for nutritive eating and healthy living.”

No cause for concern

In the past few years, some unsubstantiated media reports and videos on social media have raised concerns about the safety of waxed apples. However, the wax used on Washington Apples is completely natural and safe.

Before they are packed, Washington Apples go through a stringent cleaning process to remove field dirt and other impurities. As a result of this, some of the natural wax on the fruits’ surfaces also gets removed. Therefore, a few drops of food grade coatings like those used in candy, chocolates, pastries, etc., are applied to the apples to replace the wax that was washed away during the cleaning process.

Food coatings used on Washington Apples are derived from two sources—carnauba and shellac. While carnauba wax is sourced from the harvested leaves of the carnauba palm tree found in Brazil, shellac wax is a resin secreted by the lac beetle, found in Asia, and is similar to honey. Both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, have approved these waxes.

“The Washington Apples that are sold in India are completely safe and meet the same standards as they would while selling in the U.S. or any other market in the world,” Saran adds.

Hopefully, now you know how to satiate one of those mid-meal hunger pangs!

For more nutrition updates and recipe ideas, follow Washington Apples India on Facebook.