The pouch of figs I purchased from the supermarket has a warning sticker on the back, where hardly anyone will find it, advising that it contains chemicals found by the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects. There are only three ingredients: figs, water, and a preservative. I have not bothered to investigate further this claim of possible physical harm, but it seems reasonable that the preservative is the suspected culprit.
You wax poetic! Collecting stories for a book?