Spray tanning oranges?

I reckon Charmyn Palavi could shed some light…

I-filed said :

You have to factor in relationships with growers in the Riverina. Various independent supermarkets in Canberra have longstanding relationships with growers and get really good fresh produce. (And not just Italian supermarket owners; witness the Greek-owned Ainslie supermarket). Often the stuff is too fresh to have gone through Sydney first.

That’s kind of what I was getting at. Don’t write off supermarkets, whether chain or independent and believe the marketing of the dedicated fruit and veg shops. In the end every individual chain stores have a say in what stock they get so nothing’s universal.

creative_canberran said :

Than any of the shops at Fyshwick markets where they’re normally half rotting by Saturday. Their buying power and supply lines explain that

well, its also what they’re prepared to pay…. if they;re not willing to pay for 1st grade produce, then they wont get 1st grade. Its not a rule that 1st grade must go to private shops….

creative_canberran said :

Private fruit shops get whatever the wholesaler has cheap to give them more margin.
Certainly in Canberra, none of the fruit shops have direct supply agreements, they get them through wholesale in Sydney.

You have to factor in relationships with growers in the Riverina. Various independent supermarkets in Canberra have longstanding relationships with growers and get really good fresh produce. (And not just Italian supermarket owners; witness the Greek-owned Ainslie supermarket). Often the stuff is too fresh to have gone through Sydney first.

Davo111 said :

On a slightly unrelated note, these are 3rd grade fruits. 1st go to private fruit shops who pay the most, 2nd goes to coles/woolies etc… 4th grade get mulched down into juice (assuming they use the same “grading” system as apples)

That’s not the way it goes. Indeed I often get better strawberries and blueberries, grown in QLD and Tasmania from Woolies than any of the shops at Fyshwick markets where they’re normally half rotting by Saturday. Their buying power and supply lines explain that. Private fruit shops get whatever the wholesaler has cheap to give them more margin.
Certainly in Canberra, none of the fruit shops have direct supply agreements, they get them through wholesale in Sydney.

I’d say the oranges have been dumped in vat of dye to make them appear more attractive to consumers. It looks like the rollers that would turn the oranges wasn’t working. So they’ve just created a perfect ‘waterline’ across the orange.

I’d say its common practice. I’ve visited apple orchards and they do a similar thing by spraying the apples with a substance that makes them appear shiny / gloss in the light.

On a slightly unrelated note, these are 3rd grade fruits. 1st go to private fruit shops who pay the most, 2nd goes to coles/woolies etc… 4th grade get mulched down into juice (assuming they use the same “grading” system as apples)

http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/2023156
the answer is yes

A quick google produced this
http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/2023156
so the answer is yes

Actually, they’re not spray tanned. Well they’re not sprayed with colour. Rather they are subjected to a spraying by Ethylene Gas which breaks down the chlorophyll in the skin and makes them turn orange. It’s because in the oranges native sub-tropical climate they’re actually green when ripe. In Orange exporting sub-tropical nations Oranges are eaten green but subjected to gassing for export, however in colder climates the cold weather naturally breaks down the Chlorophyll making them go yellow/orange.

This one seems to have been subjected to an uneven gassing. If they were grown in Australia then they make have been the original paler colour when picked but then were gassed in order to make them look like what we think an orange should look like.

And not to take credit for this, I know this because of the brilliant Second Book of General Ignorance compiled by the researchers from Stephen Fry’s QI. Both volumes are great reads!