# Do you remove stickers from produce? Other purchases? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 1, 2023, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remove-stickers-from-produce-other-purchases/980550 "2023-03-01T17:32:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2023, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remove-stickers-from-produce-other-purchases/980550/1 "2023-03-01T17:32:46Z")
It seems as though a great deal of produce we purchase has a sticker on each individual piece. Apples, pears, bananas, tomatoes… When she returns from the grocery store, my wife promptly removes any stickers from fruit and vegetables - provided they can be removed without damaging the produce - such as pears. I happened to mention this to my sister, and she does the same. I wondered how common/uncommon this practice was. Do you remove such stickers or not, and why/why not? My wife and sister think produce is attractive - whether in a bowl on the counter or in the fridge, and they prefer the appearance without stickers. In fact, both my wife and sister pretty consistently remove stickers - such as barcodes - from most products, such as a hand soap dispenser that will be on the counter, or a pot that will be placed outside. They both have Goo-gone that they use for this purpose, and complain that many stickers are hard to remove without damaging the product. No, I don’t mean to suggest they make a big deal out of this or complain frequently and bitterly - it is just something they do to reflect their preference. I’d probably remove the stickers from products I kept for some time, but don’t think I would care about the fruits and veggies until it came time to use them. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2023, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remove-stickers-from-produce-other-purchases/980550/2 "2023-03-01T17:36:50Z")
For produce: Only right before I eat them. As for other purchases, no. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2023, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remove-stickers-from-produce-other-purchases/980550/3 "2023-03-01T17:37:16Z")
I usually peel off stickers but mostly out of idle fingerwork and the opportunity to project my ability to enact change in the world. Less so because I think a bar code ruins the aesthetics of my bananas and pump soap. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2023, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remove-stickers-from-produce-other-purchases/980550/4 "2023-03-01T17:37:24Z")
If I am going to eat that part of the produce (i.e. apple) then I remove the stickers. For oranges, bananas, etc. where it will just be discarded with the peel I leave them be. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2023, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remove-stickers-from-produce-other-purchases/980550/5 "2023-03-01T17:38:02Z")
Turns out they are required to be edible (or at least non-toxic), and should be removed before composting the peels and such. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2023, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remove-stickers-from-produce-other-purchases/980550/6 "2023-03-01T17:39:27Z")
ARGGGHHH I cannot stand the little stickers they put on red and green bell peppers! I almost always forget to remove them before cutting, and I don’t know how many times I’ve sliced up a bell pepper for a nice stir-fry or something and seen little bits of label still on the slices immediately after. Or worse yet, seeing them in the finished product and having to fish them out. 😡 If I do remember to remove them first, they often stick so well they pull off the surface skin of the pepper. AS for stickers on products, if I’m prominently displaying the product, like a liquid soap dispenser, then yes, I’ll remove it. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2023, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remove-stickers-from-produce-other-purchases/980550/7 "2023-03-01T17:41:45Z")
I still have a sticker near my belly button that says “remove after delivery”. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2023, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remove-stickers-from-produce-other-purchases/980550/8 "2023-03-01T17:43:35Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Only right before I eat them. I’m pretty sure they are not intended to be eaten. I think OP is talking about people removing them immediately to make the fruit look nicer. I suspect that this would correlate with how elegant and perfectly neat they like their environment. I would certainly think it odd to see stickers on fruit in (say) a prominent display in a high end restaurant or in a professionally staged house. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2023, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remove-stickers-from-produce-other-purchases/980550/9 "2023-03-01T17:44:15Z")
Haha. I don’t display my fruit or veggies, so it doesn’t matter to me. ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2023, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remove-stickers-from-produce-other-purchases/980550/10 "2023-03-01T17:45:11Z")
I once told a co-worker that the stickers on fruits and vegetables were edible. About 3 years later he told me that the produce guy at the store said he shouldn’t eat them. He had been eating them that whole time. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2023, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remove-stickers-from-produce-other-purchases/980550/11 "2023-03-01T17:46:38Z")
Interesting, it seems like if they are edible, they should be compostable. As for the OP, I don’t discard them except to avoid eating them. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2023, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remove-stickers-from-produce-other-purchases/980550/12 "2023-03-01T17:48:25Z")
> [@racer72](#): > > He had been eating them that whole time. I don’t think they are intended to be eaten, but I’m sure they are designed to be harmless. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2023, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remove-stickers-from-produce-other-purchases/980550/13 "2023-03-01T17:48:45Z")
I remove them before eating. In many cases, i find they are easier to remove sooner than later, and I’ll often remove the stickers from apples when i unpack them. But sometimes removing them damages the produce, and in that case I’ll leave them on until immediately before consuming. I’m indifferent to seeing them. Fwiw, they are what makes it cost effective for a store to carry many varieties of apple or plum, so I’m a fan, despite the annoyance. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2023, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remove-stickers-from-produce-other-purchases/980550/14 "2023-03-01T17:51:35Z")
> [@zimaane](#): > > Interesting, it seems like if they are edible, they should I’m no expert, but I readily pulled up several cites [such as this one](https://www.ecoenclose.com/blog/heres-what-to-do-with-those-annoying-produce-stickers/) which claim since they are on food, the FDA requires that they be edible, but that for whatever reason they are not biodegradable. I can imagine they are inert and pass through your system, but that doesn’t mean they biodegrade readily. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2023, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remove-stickers-from-produce-other-purchases/980550/15 "2023-03-01T17:51:44Z")
Yes, I remove the stickers immediately unless they are on bananas because one discards the peels when removed. My feeling, based on absolutely no research or scientific evidence, is that refrigeration might stiffen the adhesive holding the stickers to the fruit, and that make it harder to wash it all off the fruit when I’m ready to take it out of the fridge and eat it. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2023, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remove-stickers-from-produce-other-purchases/980550/16 "2023-03-01T17:51:53Z")
This reminds me of the warning on the Elmer’s School Glue bottle that says/said “Non-Toxic But Not Edible” ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2023, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remove-stickers-from-produce-other-purchases/980550/17 "2023-03-01T17:53:36Z")
I have an ongoing collage of banana peel stickers. I know, I know. I need a life. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2023, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remove-stickers-from-produce-other-purchases/980550/18 "2023-03-01T17:54:04Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > since they are on food, the FDA requires that they be edible Even if the FDA did not explicitly state that requirement, common sense and thus potential liability would make it happen. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2023, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remove-stickers-from-produce-other-purchases/980550/19 "2023-03-01T17:56:20Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > sometimes removing them damages the produce Yes, it’s almost impossible to remove them from peaches without exposing the flesh. (I’m not a prude about exposing flesh, but I draw the line at peach flesh.) ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2023, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remove-stickers-from-produce-other-purchases/980550/20 "2023-03-01T17:59:40Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > For produce: Only right before I eat them. As for other purchases, no. Same. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-remove-stickers-from-produce-other-purchases/980550.md?page=2)