Tree Top Expands Alar Ban: Tree Top...

Tree Top Expands Alar Ban: Tree Top Inc., the nation’s largest apple processor, said it will break contracts with growers who use the chemical Alar on this season’s crop. The growers’ cooperative in Idaho, Oregon and Washington said the move was to assuage consumer fears, which have been inflamed by allegations about Alar’s cancer-causing properties. In the past, Tree Top rejected apples that were treated with the chemical, which makes apples redder and crisper. Under the expanded ban, no apples will be accepted from growers who use Alar on any apple trees, even if the apples submitted to Tree Top aren’t treated.