What do they add to prepared fruit bags to stop the apple going brown?

[Ceolas]

There's nothing listed on the bag, but if I cut apple at home for the kids it always goes brown.

Sprinkle it with lemon juice or orange juice.

Vitamin C usually. I wonder if the prepared bags don't have any oxygen in them though - this would stop them going brown without adding anything I think.

Apple slices are often dipped in ascorbic acid solution - the "official" name for vit C - same effect can be gained with lemon juice solution. If they are dipped it should be declared on the packaging though. Asc Acid has an E number - E300 I think.

The bags could be gas flushed with nitrogen, if this is the case then "Packaged in a protective atmosphere" should appear on the packaging somewhere.

They're not vacuum packed. How would the oxygen be removed?

DD2 is such a fuss pot and will only eat sliced apple. Whole apples come back uneaten!

If something is added, does it not have to be listed?

If ascorbic acid has been used it should be declared as either Antioxidant: E300 or Antioxidant: Ascorbic Acid

(Just checked, it is E300)

Ceolas, I chop up apple for my dd and I find that if I do it in the morning just before we leave then she's still happy to eat it at lunchtime. I just pop it in a sealed container instead of a bag.

I reckon tigerfeet is right - the bag will be flushed with nitrogen.

I just keep a jiff lemon in my fridge and rub apple slices with it. Seems to do the trick and dd has never complained.

I have those little coloured plastic tubs with lids. You get them in the baby section of the supermarket. I tried adding orange juice but it went a bit mushy. Maybe too much.

I didn't mean they were vacuum packed, I meant what TigerFeet said.

Some varieties of apple don't go brown - its to do with how much vit C in them apparently (I'll ask my mum, she told me that)

I chop up Cox's apples to take to work (am also not good at eating whole apples), and they don't brown very much - certainly less than I remember apple slices browning when I took them to school as a kid (which were probably Golden Delicious).