Perfect fruit. What does it mean? In US food culture, the word “perfect” is about an expectation of a certain appearance. It has nothing at all to do with the safety of food or its nutritional value. The lettuce or whatever it was that caused the recent outbreak of cyclospora almost certainly looked perfect. Apparently it was not actually perfect at all. In fact, quite unhealthy.

When it comes to apples, perfect means there can be nothing visible to suggest any possibility that an insect might have disturbed the surface of the fruit. We use words like blemishes and, yes, “imperfections” to describe undesirable apples. For many years, even the color had to be mono-chromatic. Now, with the introduction of Honeycrisp, at least stripes are allowed.

When I hear that growers are forced to spray because consumers want perfect fruit, I wonder, “what if perfect fruit meant apples that are really good for you and don’t make you sick… regardless of how they look?”