Juicy melons to beat the heat? Be wary of chemical cocktails in seasonal fruits

While it came as a shock to Ganesh that eating fruits landed him in the hospital, doctors said that roadside retailers inject toxic chemicals and colouring agents to make the fruits look tempting.

As the sale of juicy melons in roadside shops spike with the sweltering heat, customers need to be aware of the presence of chemicals in the fruits, doctors opined.

According to them, various synthetic colouring agents and toxic chemicals such as ethylene ripener and Erythrosine-B are in them to ripen and add colour can cause flu, diarrhoea and infectious diseases.

Fruits with shorter shelf life like mangoes, melons, watermelons and other seasonal fruits are injected with harmful chemicals to make them look fresh, increase shelf life and ripen them artificially.

“During summer, there is an increase in the cases when patients come with complaints of diarrhoea after consuming fruits, especially water-rich fruits. However, we are not able to prove the presence of chemicals in the fruits despite knowing it is being practiced. The cases of infections, diarrhoea and jaundice also rise because of contaminated water in fruit juices,” said Dr P Vasanthamani, dean, Kilpauk Medical College.

Calcium carbide in fruits can not only cause minor issues such as headache, dizziness, mood disturbances and sleepiness, but can also lead to memory loss, cerebral edema and seizures. Erythrosine-B has been banned in various countries because it can lead to cancer and cause problems to the reproductive system. The use of ethylene is permitted in India, but most vendors and retailers do not use it properly and that can lead to damage to the neurological system.

“It is difficult to check and find out if fruits are injected with chemicals or not. There are no typical signs of checking the use of wax, chemicals or other colouring agents. However, watermelon can be checked for the presence of erythrosine-B by cutting a piece of watermelon and dipping it in water for some time. If the colour of the water changes, then it has been injected,” said food safety expert and food consultant S Chander.

After complaints of watermelons being injected with Erythrosine-B surfaced last summer, the Food Safety Department conducted an inspection at various market places and seized fruits that were found to be containing chemicals. So far, we have not received any complaints on the issue. However, we will conduct regular inspection to keep a check on this, said a senior official from State Food Safety Department.