Many have been left in disbelief after finding out that most lemons are 'coated in wee'. And some people have even said they’re ‘physically sick’ after discovering this.
Channel 4 viewers left shocked after learning what the wax on a lemon is actually made from. On Channel 4 Food Unwrapped Kate Quilton and Matt Tebbutt looked into why lemons can be so waxy.
Most people who often buy lemons will probably know what the strange wax layer is on the lemon. The two went on to find out what the wax layer really is, reports Lancs Live.
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As Kate and Matt were travelling, they came to discover that the wax around lemons contains shellac, which some know as nail polish. Kate headed to Thailand to learn more about shellac, host Tomas took her out into the jungle for a proper demonstration.
The ingredient was found in trees, Tomas cut off a branch covered in nests of insects known as lac beetles. These beetles attach themselves to the tree for the duration of their six-month life cycle, sucking up the sap, absorbing it, and secreting it until they quite literally feast to death.
At the same time, each female will lay approximately 1,000 eggs before their short time is up. Explaining the process to an amazed Kate, Tomas said: "The shining product we make is from pee or waste from the beetles".
Viewers were appalled by this discovery and said they are feeling physically sick, particularly given that Kate had already sampled the shellac for herself, remarking upon its distinct taste, reports the Mirror. One person wrote: "Beetle waste and pee that's what wax lemons we buy... yuck."
Another said: "I knew that the wax on lemons is not vegetarian! Will never buy waxed again!"
As previously reported by Madehow.com: "The sap is chemically altered in the lac bug's body and is then exuded onto the tree branch. On contact with the air, the excretion forms a hard shell-like covering over the entire swarm.
"This covering forms a crust over the twig and insects. As the female lac bug is exuding the ingested sap, she is preparing to die and is providing a fluid in which her eggs will mature under protection.
"The males' role is to fertilise the female, and it is after fertilisation that the females' lac output is vastly increased. The adult males and females become inactive, and the young start to break through the crust and swarm out."
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