--- title: "Rejoice! The New York Times Says It’s Fine to Eat the Stickers on Vegetables" description: "This just in: you're not going to die if you eat the stickers that come on your grocery store fruits and veggies, says the New York Times!" date: "2021-11-17" modified: "2021-11-17" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/new-york-times-stickers-vegetables" categories: - "Developments" - "Health & Medicine" tags: - "food" - "health" - "nutrition" - "produce" --- # Rejoice! The New York Times Says It’s Fine to Eat the Stickers on Vegetables ![This just in: you're not going to die if you eat the stickers that come on your grocery store fruits and veggies!]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* Good news! You're not going to die if you eat the stickers that come on your grocery store fruits and veggies! This revelation comes from [*the New York Times*' Ask Well column](), in which people bring their burning nutrition questions to the paper's food writers. And in spite of [sharing a masthead with the *Times*' Editorial Board](), they really seem to hit the nail on the head here. "I keep finding myself biting into an apple or a peach, only to find I’ve eaten half the sticker the store put on there," one anxious *Times* reader wrote in. "Is there any harm in eating produce stickers?" In response to what could conceivably turn into a "My Strange Addiction"-type situation, the *Times* columnist said that the little stickers on your produce "won’t cause you any harm," with the caveat that "it’s probably best to remove them before eating." Because the Gray Lady's standards require three reliable sources [unless you're Bret Stephens](), columnist Sophie Egan's conclusion was well-cited: she spoke to a spokesperson from the US Food and Drug Administration, a supply chain wizard from the organization that invented the stickers in question, and the director of Cornell's Waste Management Institute. All three of these experts were in agreement: it's not a big deal to eat the stickers, because they were designed to be edible anyway. If only they could figure out what to do about the brain geniuses that are apparently stuck to the [paper's opinion section](). **More on fruits and vegetables:** [*Scientists Are Storing Energy Using Uneaten Fruit*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()