Are You Eating Plastic Instead of Lettuce?
A Facebook video surfaced on the 22nd of April in 2018, showing a woman, Karen Martin Collins, peeling what looks like plastic off romaine lettuce. Emmanuel Kucherovsky, on the 19th of July 2018, does the same plastic peeling in a resurfaced video. The video went viral as people reposted it on their pages and shared it with their friends and families. Shown in one of the videos is Collins having lettuce in her hands, stating to look at the plastic lettuce as she is peeling. Collins also captions her post with being careful of all types of foods, even if they are FDA approved. Kucherovsky demonstrates that as he peels the film from the leaf, noting this is what people eat when they have romaine lettuce, once again claiming it as plastic. At the time and reputation of romaine lettuce, E Coil recalls made it hard for people to trust foods and point out any flaws in foods, mostly produce. The video can easily persuade anyone who is cautious and on edge as the video seems authentic. Though, after searching more about the plastic peel by sampling searching “plastic peeling romaine lettuce,” Collin’s video serves as another spread of fake news.
Numerous articles showcased Collins’s claim during the search of plastic peeling romaine lettuce, shared across social media, mainly Facebook. Images of the plastic peeling show on google images from websites and articles such as 10news.com, Metro.us, wusa9.com, Snopes, and more. Primarily the articles posted currently have claimed the story false with agricultural experts. Related searches also connected how to spot a fake lettuce and other claims of the plastic film, like the liquid wax or oil sprayed on the produce. Not many different websites have spread the plastic debate but have made its statement whether if it was true or not. The Google video tap shows videos of lettuces and a film peeling off. The Google search displayed mostly videos and websites published in 2018, the same year as Collins’s resurfacing video and the lettuce, only one month or a few after the viral video.
Articles such as Snope, Metro.us, and more stated that the plastic peeled off the lettuce is a side effect of cold weathers known as epidermal peeling. Epidermal peeling is when, for example, lettuce is exposed to freezing temperatures, therefore leaving a protective layer that can peel off. Romaine lettuces are mainly grown in Arizona, exposed to the freezing temperatures, leaving plenty of the lettuce to produce the epidermal peeling. Websites and new casts were quick to debunk the plastic film claim with experts and research. A video called, Live from the Fields: Epidermal Peel, Romaine Lettuce, demonstrated the process of the epidermal peel on romaine lettuce. John Galven, a farmer, explained what happens when lettuces are exposed to freezing temperatures. It does not affect the quality of the lettuce, it just leaves a slight cosmetic difference.
False news and reporting have a reputation of attracting people to its claim and sadly have people spreading incorrect information to others without proper research and facts to back up. The original video caused a lot of awareness and attention for the wrong reason. It is essential to back up information that has been spread from people to people because misinformation causes unnecessary fear among people, and more fictional stories overcome the truth.
Work Cited
Galven, John. “LIVE FROM THE FIELDS: Epidermal Peel on Romaine Lettuce.” Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 8 Jan. 2018. Accessed: 28 Oct. 2020.
Metro. “Is There a Thin Layer of Plastic Covering Your Romaine Lettuce?” Metro US, 25 Feb. 2020, www.metro.us/is-there-a-thin-layer-of-plastic-covering-your-romaine-lettuce/. Accessed: 28 Oct. 2020.
Palma, Bethania, and Bethania Palma. “Does a ‘Plastic’ Layer Cover Romaine Lettuce?” Snopes.com, 24 Apr. 2018, www.snopes.com/fact-check/plastic-layer-covering-romaine-lettuce/. Accessed: 28 Oct. 2020.
