Do fruit/vegetables sprayed with pesticides last longer than organic?

Someone told me that those that last for a week or more, and they are the ones I buy (and more expensive), only last so long because of the chemicals they have been sprayed with.

I do not know if this is true and doubt it as all fruit/vegetables that is not organic would be sprayed with pesticides.

So, cannot answer this one -interest to hear views of other!

by Finy

I think you can be pretty sure that non organic veg has been sprayed with pesticides, though organic veg might have been as well (it doesn't mean no pesticides necessarily, it just restricts what kind of pesticides can be used).

Ah, I think I misunderstood your answer, sorry.

Maybe the fruit and veg you buy is more expensive because it's fresher, and that's why it lasts longer.

I can't see why pesticides would make fruit and veg last longer. Arent' they used to kill insects on the plant, not affect the fruit after its picked?

by Jennifer Muirhead

Pesticides are poisons to kill pests, not to prolong the life of the produce. Herbicides kill weeds.....
What you are thinking of (I assume) is preservatives, for example washing salad leaves in chlorinated water or coating apples in a waxy substance. These are effective in making the produce last longer but I'm not sure if they would affect organic rating, so it could be possible to buy organic produce that has been treated to make it last longer.
Fruit and veg don't hang around for long in my house as they get eaten up, so I don't know form experience!

by VerityG

I've always believed that PESTicides are to stop PESTS and not for any other purpose. I cannot really say whether the fruit and Vegies last longer than the ones I get from my garden and from my friends and neighbours.I do know that the fruit I have actually been buying this past year has all been very tasty,in beautiful condition and also has lasted very well.Just like the stuff I have NOT paid for!

by Jules

Probably they do is the common sense answer but I don't really know...

by fran

I think chemicals are sprayed only to keep away bugs, so probably not. Maybe GM ones do.

by Vee

I think chemicals are sprayed only to keep away bugs, so probably not. Maybe GM ones do.

by Vee

I didn't think it made any difference, that it was just ton keep the bugs off them.

by Gayle Beveridge

I think that fruit and veg are sprayed with chemicals to make them last longer. I don't know what the effects are though. These preservatives are in addition to the pesticides that are sprayed on them.

by AJ

e.g. I grow Lebanese cucumbers and they do not last more than about 3 or 4 days yet the expensive ones I buy last about 10 days...

As VerityG said, processing as waxing tend to prolong the shelf life of produce. As it pertains to fertilizers, I'm not so sure.

by dwatk

I have often found that the "organic" fruit and veg sold in some so called health food stores looks past its prime, generally because it is so expensive and noone is rushing to buy it. By definition, everything in this world based on carbon is organic hence the study of organic chemistry. Those peddling organic produce should find more appropriate terminology. Any treatments for fruit and veg in this country go through a rigorous testing process to ensure they are not harmful to humans, but it is always a golden rule to wash all before eating because you do not know what they have encountered enroute to market.

by grann

No they are loaded with lethal chemicals and cause major health issues. I don't buy them

by

No. There is no logic to it. Fruit and veges last as long as they last from birth to seeding. Maybe genetic modification would make them last longer. *shudder*

by Rice