What is the ruling on eating fruits or vegetables coated with shellac wax, given the ignorance of the type of wax used, and the possibility of traces of alcohol or insect parts on them? Is washing them with water and by hand sufficient?

Lacquer wax (shellac) is extracted from the females of the insect "Kerria lacca," and carmine is a red pigment from an acid extracted by scale insects. Alcohol is often used in dyes. If insects transform into another substance after processing, there is no harm in adding them to food or other products as long as they do not cause harm. A small, consumed amount is excused, such as alcohol used for dissolution. Additives of impure or forbidden origin become permissible by Islamic law through two methods: istihalah (transformation), which is the chemical change of an impure or forbidden substance into an entirely different substance; and istihlak (consumption/dissolution), which is the mixing of a forbidden or impure substance with a predominant pure substance, such that the characteristics of the mixed substance—taste, color, and odor—disappear. There is no harm in eating fruit coated with shellac wax or in which carmine is used if there is no harm, and the fruit should be washed if traces of insects are found on it.