Actress Michelle Pfeiffer has launched a rare attack, coming out against Bill Gates and claiming the billionaire is playing a role in intentionally contaminating the nation’s food supply.
The three-time Oscar nominee posted on Instagram that she was concerned about the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of Apeel, a Gates-backed food coating that aims to extend the shelf life of produce.
She reposted an Instagram reel to her story Thursday that said “organic produce is no longer safe.”
“Apeel (an edible, plant-based coating designed to extend the shelf life of fresh fruits and vegetables) was just approved and now ‘organic’ produce is coated in something we cannot see or wash off,” she added. “Very concerning.”
The Hollywood icon, 67, also shared a list of grocery stores and markets that no longer sell Apeel. The list included major stores like Costco, Natural Grocers, Publix, and Trader Joe’s. She warned her 3.5 million Instagram followers, including loyal fans who are eager to see her upcoming AppleTV+ project with Elle Fanning, Margo’s Got Money Troubles.
Even though the Gates family has no current involvement in Apeel, they’ve significantly financed the company in the past. Its founder James Rogers first received early support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 2012 with a $100,000 grant. It has also received major backing from venture capitalist Andreessen Horowitz.
Apeel claims on its website that people can easily wash off the coating by rinsing the produce with water. It uses lipids or plant oils naturally found in produce to creating a coating. The coating is then applied to “the surface of fresh fruits and vegetables in order to retain moisture and reduce oxidation,” Apeel Co-Founder Jenny Du told the Associated Press.
“Our product is also intended to be edible,” she added.
The company’s mission was to reduce food waste by ensuring that fruits and vegetables like avocados, oranges, lemons, apples, mangoes and cucumbers stay fresh longer. The coating is invisible and made from naturally found material.
“Apeel didn’t create these ingredients,” Du told Food & Wine. “These are existing ingredients in our foods. All we did was use them in a different way.”
“We use very, very small amounts,” she added, noting the amount of product used on an average avocado (200 grams) is equivalent in weight to a tenth of a small raisin (20–22 milligrams).
Since its creation, Apeel claims that it has stopped 166 million pieces of produces from going to waste, prevented 64 million pounds of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere, and conserved 1.8 billion gallons of water.
Pfeiffer, however, is not buying it.
Gates has been at the center of some controversies in recent years, especially due to his relationship with child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who died via suicide in jail before his trial in 2019. Gates has said that his friendship with the financier was a “huge mistake” and that he was “foolish to spend any time with him.”
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