Alar

Alar, the trade name for daminozide[?], a chemical sprayed on apples to regulate their growth and enhance their color.

In 1989 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency decided to ban it because "long-term exposure to Alar poses unacceptable risks to public health." The ban followed a February 1989 broadcast by CBS's 60 Minutes highlighting a report by the Natural Resources Defense Council claiming that alar was a dangerous carcinogen.

External links:

• Myth of 'Alar Scare' Persists (http://www.ewg.org/reports/alar/alar.html) anti-alar
• March 1989 FDA press release (http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/NEW00128.html)
• The Alar Scare (http://www.drkoop.com/news/focus/june/alar.html) pro-alar