Imported garlic, more harm than good?
I am slowly becoming known as “the lady that grew her own greens” in my company. I tend to get asked random questions about growing vegetables, which was how it started this rather insightful conversation. One of my workmate asks me if I have any experience in growing garlic. Hmm, well, no. In fact, it never occur to me to grow some as they are just so freaking cheap in stores – $1 a bag of imported garlic.
As the conversion progresses, I was soon found out that the reason he want to grow was because he is concern about imported garlic were fumigated by Australian quarantine. Excuse me! did I just hear fumigate? Australia has strict quarantine laws about importing wood/timber/bamboo but it just never occur to me that food needs to go through fumigation as well. This is made me question, “Do I know really know what I am serving for dinner?”
I want to believe fumigated garlic is safe for human consumption given that its sold readily in the grocery store but I can’t; If fumigation kills any nasty bugs that lurks within, one can only image what it has done to the garlic. I am no food scientist but you don’t have to be one to exercise common sense. Come this Autumn, I will start growing my own garlic. In the meantime, I will buy Australian grown garlic. At least I know it not fumigated and its grown to Australian standards.
Interesting article in The Age about Imported garic