TL;DR: That brown colour on dried apricots isn't a sign they're old, it means they're real. Bright orange dried fruit is treated with sulphur dioxide (E220), a chemical preservative that can trigger asthma, migraines, and inflammation. At Organic Fix, our certified organic dried fruit is naturally sun dried with no chemicals, no bleaching, and all the goodness intact.
Reading time: 4 minutes
The Question That Made Me Smile
The other day, a customer stood at our bulk bins looking at the apricots with a slightly worried expression. "Are these meant to be brown? They look… old."
I couldn't help but smile, because I completely understood. When you've only ever seen bright orange apricots in glossy packets at the supermarket, the real ones can look genuinely surprising. Almost disappointing, even.
But here's what I told her and what I wish more people knew: that deep golden brown colour isn't a sign they've gone off. It's actually a sign they're real.
The Chemical Behind the Colour
Those vivid orange apricots you see everywhere? They get their unnaturally bright colour from a chemical called sulphur dioxide, sometimes listed as E220 on ingredient labels.
It's a gas used to bleach and preserve dried fruit. It locks in that vivid colour and extends shelf life significantly. From a commercial perspective, it makes perfect sense bright fruit sells better, lasts longer, and looks more appealing on the shelf.
But here's the part that doesn't get talked about nearly enough.
What Sulphur Dioxide Actually Does to Your Body
Sulphur dioxide is a respiratory irritant. When inhaled or consumed in larger quantities, it can trigger asthma attacks, migraines, and allergic reactions, especially in children and people with existing sensitivities.
It causes inflammation in the airways and contributes to ongoing issues like fatigue, congestion, or persistent headaches. The tricky part? Many people never make the connection between what they're eating and how they're feeling.
A single handful of dried apricots probably won't cause noticeable harm. But those little exposures add up over time, quietly building your body's overall toxic load, the cumulative burden of chemicals your system is constantly working to process and eliminate.
Even more frustrating? Sulphur dioxide doesn't just sit on the surface. It binds to the food itself, meaning you can't wash it off. Once it's there, it's there.
And ironically, in protecting the fruit's bright appearance, sulphur actually strips away some of the flavour, enzymes, and nutrients that make dried fruit so nourishing in the first place.
What Real Dried Fruit Actually Looks Like
When fruit is dried naturally without chemicals it looks darker because the natural sugars inside caramelise during the drying process. That's all that brown colour is.
You're still getting all the goodness: fibre, minerals, antioxidants, and natural sweetness. You're just not getting the chemical coating.
Here's something important: if something is certified organic, it legally cannot contain sulphur dioxide or any synthetic preservatives. That's part of the piece of mind you're paying for when you choose certified organic products. You know it's been grown, processed, and packaged under strict standards that protect both your body and the environment.
Why We've Been Conditioned to Expect Perfection
I think we've been conditioned over decades of supermarket shopping to expect shiny and bright to mean fresh and good. But in nature, that's not the case.
Real food often looks imperfect. And honestly, that's the beauty of it.
At Organic Fix, we choose to stock only sulphur free, certified organic dried fruit that's been dried naturally often under the Australian sun with no bleaching, no preservatives, and no additives. Just pure fruit, exactly as it's meant to be.
Our apricots, raisins, sultanas, dates, and figs might not win a beauty contest against their chemical laden counterparts, but they win every time when it comes to what really matters: taste, nutrition, and safety.
Brown Is the New Orange
So next time you scoop up a handful of our apricots or raisins from the bulk bins and notice they're a bit darker than you expected, you can smile and know: that's nature's version of perfect.
Choosing sulphur free fruit isn't just about avoiding one more chemical. It's about getting closer to real food, the way nature designed it.
Because when you eat food that's real, your body knows exactly what to do with it.
Visit Organic Fix at 937 Main Road, Eltham to explore our full range of certified organic, sulphur free dried fruit. Your body will thank you.