"Poisonous" fruits are mostly the result of the excessive and out-of-range use of chemical agents, posing a serious threat to people's health. Experts remind that merchants cater to customer preferences to create these toxic fruits, therefore citizens should not judge fruits by their appearance and put an end to the practice of faking and poisoning.
It is understood that these "poisonous" fruits are produced by the excessive use of growth hormones, ripening agents, and enlarging agents during the growing process, or by the excessive use of preservatives during storage, and even the use of colorants, waxing, and bleaching during sale, which has become a public hazard that seriously threatens people's health.
Experts analyze that the main reason for the proliferation of toxic fruits is that consumers often judge fruits by their appearance. "Consumers buy what they like, and merchants produce what consumers like. We like to buy big, brightly colored fruits, so naturally, some people cater to this. If consumers stop buying these problematic fruits, the practice of 'faking and poisoning' will not exist."
Therefore, the city's food safety information network has specially compiled a list of 12 commonly eaten "problematic" fruits to make them public, warning citizens not to judge fruits by their appearance and not to give a market to fakers.
Peaches: Soaked in industrial citric acid
Honey peaches are soaked in industrial citric acid to make them bright red and not easy to rot. This chemical residue can damage the nervous system, induce allergic diseases, and even cause cancer. Semi-ripe crisp peaches have alum, sweeteners, and alcohol added to them to make them crisp and sweet.
The main component of alum is aluminum sulfate. Long-term consumption can lead to bone hyperplasia, memory loss, dementia, decreased skin elasticity, and increased wrinkles. White peaches are fumigated with sulfur, which will leave sulfur dioxide residues.
Mangoes: Ripened with quicklime
Unripe mangoes are ripened with quicklime to make their skin look yellow and golden, but they don't taste like mangoes and also have the problem of excessive preservative use.
Pears: Ripened early with growth hormones
Using enlarging agents and growth hormones to make them ripen early, then bleached and dyed with bleaching powder and colorants (lemon yellow).
Treated pears have little juice and a bland taste, sometimes accompanied by strange odors and a rotten smell. These toxic pears have a short shelf life and are easy to rot.
Bananas: Ripened with ammonia water
Ripened with ammonia or sulfur dioxide, these bananas have a tender yellow and beautiful appearance, but the pulp is stiff in texture and not sweet.
Sulfur dioxide can damage the human nervous system and also affect liver and kidney function.
Watermelons: Enlarged with expanding agents
Excessive use of ripening agents, expanding agents, and highly toxic pesticides. The stripes on the skin of such watermelons are uneven, the pulp inside looks fresh, the seeds are white, and there is a strange odor.