Many people enjoy making tea with orange peels, believing they have cooling, heat-relieving, appetite-stimulating, and cough-relieving effects. A reader, Mr. Zhang, contacted our newspaper's hotline to report that the oranges he purchased had a strong chemical smell. He asked: Are these oranges still edible? Can the peels still be used to make tea?
Mr. Zhang said that in mid-February, he bought two large bags of oranges. When eating them, he noticed they had a strong chemical smell, and there was also an odd taste in his mouth. This异味 was even more pronounced when he used the peels to make tea, so his family dared not eat the remaining oranges.
The reporter opened the bag of oranges provided by Mr. Zhang and indeed smelled a chemical odor. Mr. Zhang wondered: Could eating such oranges have adverse effects on the human body?
The orange supplier explained to the reporter that oranges may develop a wine-like smell as they are stored for a long time or when they are squeezed and bruised, as this is caused by the degradation of sugars. This wine-like smell does not affect human health.
In addition, to preserve fruit during transportation, fruit-producing areas often use "preservative cleaning agents," the main ingredient of which is imazalil. Imazalil has the characteristics of broad-spectrum, high-efficiency, low residue, and non-corrosive, and is suitable for preserving various fruits and vegetables such as citrus, mangoes, bananas, and melons.
It is worth noting that orange peels that have undergone such preservation treatments cannot be used to make tea. The official stated that they will pay attention to this issue and inform customers in advance to prevent them from using the peels directly for tea.
An official from the Shanghai Fruit Industry Association explained that drinking tea with untreated orange peels is harmful to human health. This is because during the production process, oranges must be sprayed with pesticides to reduce pests, and after harvesting, they undergo chemical preservation treatments. As long as these procedures are carried out in accordance with regulations, they should have no impact on the orange pulp. However, the orange peel will contain residual toxins, so untreated peels should absolutely not be used to make tea.
At the same time, according to industry regulations, producers and sellers should inform consumers of these situations, including the origin, grade, product name, net weight, and other details that must be clearly labeled.