Is Apeel Discontinued? 2026 Store List and How to Avoid Apeel

2026 status What Apeel is Why I avoid it Store list How to avoid Apeel FAQ

A few years back I bought an organic navel orange that sat on my counter for over six months before it showed any visible decay. It still looked like something picked up that morning. That gap between how fresh produce looks and how fresh it is got me paying attention to post-harvest coatings, and Apeel in particular.

This is my September 2026 update. Apeel has mostly left U.S. grocery store shelves, the organic version is not in commercial use, and the labeling bill has not moved. A few suppliers have started shipping coated produce again, so the picture is not as simple as "gone." My reasons for preferring uncoated food have not changed, and they are laid out below along with every store policy I could verify.

Key takeaways

• Apeel is not officially discontinued. By the company's own account, its U.S. business collapsed after 2023, about 70% of sales now come from Europe, and a small number of U.S. suppliers have resumed use in 2026.
• Organipeel, the organic-approved version, has not been commercially applied for close to two years.
• The Apeel Reveal Act (H.R. 4737) would require labeling, not a ban. It is still in committee with one cosponsor.
• Natural Grocers, Publix, H-E-B, Azure Standard, Jimbo's, and PCC have on-the-record no-Apeel positions. Costco, Sprouts, Trader Joe's, and several others are reported but not formally confirmed.
• The simplest defenses still work: buy in season, buy local, and ask your produce manager about post-harvest treatments.

This article is for education only. I am a clinical herbalist, not a physician or a food scientist, and nothing here is a safety verdict on any product. Regulators in the U.S. and Europe have cleared Apeel's coatings for use. My position is a personal purchasing preference based on disclosure and the length of the available data, and I have tried to separate that preference from the claims that were withdrawn or settled in court. Store policies change and vary by location. Confirm with your own store before relying on this list.

Is Apeel discontinued? The 2026 status

Evidence: company statements and reporting by independent journalists. Numbers below come from Apeel's own account of its business.

Apeel Sciences has not shut down, and it has not formally discontinued its produce coatings. What happened is closer to a retreat. In interviews published in May and June 2026, the company said it went from about 450 employees at its 2021 peak to roughly 50, that its U.S. avocado coverage fell from around 60% of the market to near zero, and that about 70% of its sales now come from Europe, a reversal of the previous split.^[5][7] Suppliers such as Limoneira stepped away and retailers paused programs after a 2023 social media campaign against the product. The company describes that campaign as a coordinated disinformation effort, and a Pulitzer-winning investigative reporter at The Free Press documented it in detail in May 2026.^[6]

Two things have changed since my last update. First, Apeel says some suppliers have resumed selling coated produce in U.S. retail channels using a new application system built for existing packing houses, though retailers generally no longer advertise the coating to shoppers.^[7] That means coated produce is scarce but not absent, and it is less likely to be promoted with a sticker at eye level than it was in 2022. Second, the company now describes itself as an integrated technology platform rather than a coatings business, with a focus on supply chain logistics. Whether coatings return to U.S. shelves in volume will depend on retailers, not on Apeel alone.

The organic version is a separate story. Apeel has stated that Organipeel, first cleared in 2017, has not been commercially available or applied for close to two years while the company reworks the organic formulation.^[4] The specific worry that started this article, coating on certified-organic fruit, does not describe what is in stores today.

What Apeel is

Evidence: regulatory filings and the company's published ingredient list.

Apeel is a coating applied to fruits and vegetables after harvest to slow water loss and oxidation, which extends shelf life and reduces food waste along the supply chain. The conventional product is sold as Edipeel. The organic-approved product is Organipeel. Both are built on mono- and diglycerides, simple plant-derived fats, and the company lists baking soda and citric acid as the other ingredients.^[1][4] For Organipeel, citric acid is registered with the EPA as the active ingredient.^[2]

Where it has been used commercially, Apeel has appeared on avocados, apples, cucumbers, asparagus, limes, lemons, grapefruit, mandarins, mangoes, and oranges. Most produce in a typical store has never carried Apeel, though a great deal of it carries conventional food-grade wax, which has been standard practice for decades and is rarely labeled either.

Why I still choose uncoated produce

Evidence: mixed. Regulatory clearance is documented. The gaps described here are gaps in what has been published, not findings of harm.

1. The coating is designed to stay on

Apeel creates a water-resistant layer on the peel. Apeel says warm water and friction remove it, and PCC Community Markets looked into this directly with its distributors.^[8] Shoppers who have tried to scrub it off report that a slick feel remains. Peeling avoids the question. My stance is simple: I prefer food I can wash.

2. The long-term independent data is thin

Apeel's GRAS filing with the FDA relies on a 90-day rat study, chronic studies in rats and dogs, and human trials on mono- and diglycerides that ran three to twelve months.^[1] Regulators in the U.S. and the EU accepted that package. What does not exist, as far as I can find, is lifetime or multi-generation data on the coating as applied, or research on what a widely used produce coating does to pollinators and soil life once it enters the waste stream. Cleared and studied for decades are two different things.

3. Most of the formula is proprietary

Because Organipeel is registered as a pesticide, its master label (EPA Reg. No. 92708-1) lists 0.66% citric acid as the active ingredient and 99.34% as "other ingredients."^[2] Apeel publishes an ingredient list on its website, and the GRAS documentation includes manufacturing specifications and heavy-metal limits for the food-ingredient portion. The label itself still keeps the bulk of the formulation off the consumer-facing product. After years of reading how food is produced, I default to avoiding anything that keeps most of the recipe behind a patent wall.

4. The active ingredient is fermented, not squeezed

Roughly 99% of food-grade citric acid is made by fermenting glucose with the mold Aspergillus niger rather than extracting it from citrus.^[9] This is not unique to Apeel. Manufactured citric acid is in countless packaged foods. It is a useful reminder of how far a natural-sounding ingredient can be from what most people picture.

5. It makes produce look fresher than it is

By slowing water loss and gas exchange, the coating keeps fruit firm and glossy well past its normal window. Appearance and nutrient content are not the same thing. Published measurements have documented vitamin C losses of 15% to 77% in common vegetables after seven days of refrigerated storage.^[10] Anything that lets produce look store-fresh for months makes it harder to judge what you are buying.

Source: EPA

U.S. grocery stores that do not use Apeel (September 2026)

Evidence: public retailer statements where noted; customer-service replies and third-party reporting for the rest. Confidence is marked for each group.

This is what I could verify from public statements and reported policies. Individual suppliers vary by store and region, so confirm with your own produce department. If I missed a chain and you have a link to its public statement, send it my way and I will add it.

On-the-record company statements (high confidence)

• Jimbo's Naturally (Southern California). The clearest current retailer position on record. Jimbo's publicly reconfirmed on LinkedIn in 2025 that it will not carry produce treated with Apeel or Organipeel.
• Natural Grocers. Has stated publicly that it does not carry produce or products treated with Apeel, describing the coatings as out of step with its standards. It sells only organic produce and has been vocal about keeping it uncoated.
• Publix. Stated on X in 2023 that it will not purchase produce treated with Apeel's coating.
• H-E-B and Central Market. H-E-B stated on X in 2023 that it does not use Apeel-treated items in its own products and does not seek them out, with the caveat that it cannot guarantee every outside supplier. Central Market follows the same policy.
• Azure Standard (nationwide online co-op). Published a written statement from its founder against Apeel. It will not stock or ship produce treated with Apeel or Organipeel.
• PCC Community Markets (Pacific Northwest co-op). PCC has said in print that it considers Apeel generally safe, yet has instructed its distributors not to source Apeel-treated produce.^[8] I include it because it is a sourced position, even though it does not share my framing.

Reported policies (medium confidence)

These come from customer-service replies or third-party reporting rather than a formal press release. Treat them as reported, not confirmed.

• Costco. After an early pilot, Costco's produce department has told customers it stopped carrying treated produce and has no plans to sell it again.
• Sprouts Farmers Market. Widely reported to have decided internally against Apeel-treated produce. Sprouts has not issued a formal public policy.
• Fresh Thyme Market. Reported to not source Apeel-treated produce.
• Clark's Nutrition & Natural Foods Market (Southern California). Reported to have asked its distribution partners to keep Apeel out of inventory.
• Kimberton Whole Foods (Pennsylvania). Reported to not carry Apeel-treated produce.
• Trader Joe's. Reportedly no longer sources Apeel-treated produce. Trader Joe's has never issued a public policy on it.

Brands and online sellers that state no Apeel

• Bragg (Live Food Products). States the apples in its products are not treated with Organipeel, Edipeel, or other waxes. Confusion arose after Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom invested in both Bragg and Apeel; Bragg has since confirmed it does not use the coating.
• Wish Farms. States its berries are not treated with Apeel.
• Stemilt Organics. States it applies no wax or coating to its organic fruit.
• Nourish Food Club. States plainly: no Apeel. They also ship corn- and soy-free, low-PUFA eggs.
• Prairie Foods. Lists its produce as uncoated, with no Apeel or added preservatives. I have not ordered from them myself.

Grey area: no clear public policy or a partial answer

These are stores where I could not find a first-hand statement, or where the answer was "our private label is fine, but we cannot vouch for every outside brand." With Apeel's U.S. footprint as small as it is right now, the practical exposure from these stores is low. I would still rather mark them uncertain than pretend otherwise.

• Whole Foods. Its global produce team has said it does not buy Apeel-treated items but could not confirm for every regional buyer, and one corporate contact noted the coating meets its safety standards. No blanket ban. Since Organipeel is not in commercial use, the older concern about treated organic items at Whole Foods is moot for now.
• Kroger (and banners such as Ralphs, Fred Meyer, King Soopers, Smith's, QFC, Fry's, and Dillons). Says its Simple Truth private-label produce is not Apeel-treated but cannot certify every outside brand.
• Walmart. Says its private-label produce is not Apeel-treated; cannot certify other brands it carries.
• ALDI, Target, Albertsons (including Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, and Acme). No clear public Apeel policy. These chains historically sourced from suppliers that used Apeel, with no store-level guarantee either way.
• Imperfect Foods and Misfits Market. Both have told customers they moved away from Apeel. Both held Apeel partnerships in the past, and their surplus-sourcing model means they cannot always guarantee an individual supplier did not use it.

Handmade in Montana

← →

How to avoid Apeel and spot coated produce

Evidence: bill text and status from Congress.gov; company labeling policy from Apeel's own statements; the rest is practical observation.

The Apeel Reveal Act (H.R. 4737), introduced by Rep. Marlin Stutzman in July 2025, would amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act so that any fruit or vegetable treated with a shelf-life-extending coating, naming Edipeel and Organipeel specifically, must disclose it on the label.^[3] It does not ban anything. As of September 2026 it remains in the House Energy and Commerce Committee with one cosponsor, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, and has had no hearing or vote.^[3] Until something like it passes, disclosure is voluntary. Apeel says treated produce carries its logo or sticker, and that is where to look first.^[4]

Beyond the sticker, a few habits help. Produce that looks unusually perfect and far out of season is worth a second look. Fat-based coatings tend to feel smooth rather than tacky the way traditional wax does. The shipping boxes stacked in the produce area often list post-harvest treatments, and the produce manager can tell you what the department buys. Buying in season and buying from a local farm or co-op removes the question entirely, and I have found that shoppers who connect with a grower get better answers about growing practices than any label offers. The same transparency logic applies to meat, which is why I wrote about hormone implants in beef.

The lawsuit and the retractions

A lot of the "wallet card" store lists circulating online trace back to a campaign that made claims this article does not make. In August 2025 Apeel sued Robyn Openshaw (GreenSmoothieGirl) for defamation and false advertising, alleging at least 60 posts describing the coating as toxic and made with solvents and heavy metals. The case settled in May 2026. Openshaw agreed to pay an undisclosed sum and post apologies on Instagram, X, and YouTube.^[11][6] Michelle Pfeiffer, former OAN host Alison Steinberg, and several brands retracted earlier statements. My concerns are about disclosure and the length of the data, and I want to keep them separate from claims that were withdrawn.

On Bill Gates

Since it comes up in every comment section: the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation awarded Apeel research grants, starting with $100,000 in 2012 and totaling about $1.1 million across 2012 and 2015, for work on post-harvest loss in regions without refrigeration.^[6] Apeel states that Gates is not and has never been a shareholder, owner, or advisor.^[4] Apeel's larger investors have included Temasek, Katy Perry, and a $250 million round led by GIC in 2020.

Where I land in 2026

Evidence: personal position, stated as such.

Apeel may turn out to be as benign as its makers say. Regulators cleared it, and many of the loudest online claims about it did not hold up. My reasons for not eating it never rested on those claims. I want full ingredient disclosure and long-term independent data before I coat my family's food in something new, and I would rather buy from growers and stores whose sourcing I can see. Avoiding it got much easier over the past year, and the habits that make it easy protect you from whatever the next coating turns out to be. If you want to see how I apply the same standard to other pantry staples, my cooking oils article follows the same approach.

FAQ

Evidence: summarized from the sourced sections above.

Is Apeel discontinued in 2026?

No. Apeel Sciences is still operating. Its U.S. produce business shrank sharply after 2023, about 70% of its sales now come from Europe, and the company has shifted toward supply chain technology. A small number of U.S. suppliers resumed use in 2026, so coated produce is scarce in American stores but not gone.

Is Apeel still used on organic produce?

Not commercially. Apeel says Organipeel, the organic-approved formulation, has not been applied for close to two years while it reworks the product. It remains registered with the EPA and could return.

Does Whole Foods sell produce with Apeel?

Whole Foods has no blanket corporate ban. Its global produce team says it does not buy Apeel-treated items but has not confirmed that for every regional buyer. Check stickers if you want certainty.

Can you wash Apeel off fruit?

The coating is designed as a water-resistant barrier. Apeel says warm water and friction remove it, while many shoppers report a slick feel that lingers after scrubbing. Peeling avoids the coating entirely.

Does Bill Gates own Apeel?

No. The Gates Foundation gave Apeel about $1.1 million in research grants in 2012 and 2015. Gates has never been a shareholder, owner, or advisor, according to the company.

Which grocery stores do not use Apeel?

Natural Grocers, Publix, H-E-B and Central Market, Azure Standard, Jimbo's Naturally, and PCC Community Markets have public no-Apeel positions. Costco, Sprouts, Fresh Thyme, Trader Joe's, and a few regional stores are reported to avoid it without a formal policy.