Viral misinformation nearly knocked a food-waste startup off track just as it was being hailed as a promising way to keep produce from spoiling.
Its basic premise was simple: extend the life of fruits and vegetables so less ends up discarded, according to Fast Company.
That message later collided with a wave of online fearmongering, much of it spread by wellness influencers.
Shoppers across the U.S. increasingly saw the Apeel name on stickers attached to avocados, lemons, and other produce in grocery stores.
The company uses an edible, plant-based coating meant to slow moisture loss and oxidation, helping produce stay fresh longer.
Fast Company reported that after the startup grew quickly, false online posts began warning people that Apeel-treated produce was unsafe to eat.
Posts also muddied the issue by sharing ingredient lists from an unrelated floor cleaner that happened to have the same name.
Influencer after influencer cast Apeel as something alarming rather than what it was intended to be, a food-preservation technology.
The online panic soon turned into business damage. Consumers pushed growers and grocers to stop using the product, retailers pulled back, and the company's business dropped sharply.
All of that happened despite the coating having received FDA GRAS status, a designation meaning its ingredients are "generally recognized as safe."
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