Following the swelling agent of watermelons, the phytohormonal controversy struck our "vegetable basket." In response, Chang Shaodong, deputy director of the Guangzhou Academy of Agricultural Sciences, said in an interview with reporters that ethephon is used in the ripening of fruits such as tomatoes and bananas, and that it is more commonly used to allow fruit to bloom before pollination. It takes at least one to one and a half months until the fruit is listed, and its content is already very small when the fruit is marketed. It is generally not used in leafy vegetables, especially some vegetables that are produced in the season and do not need to be used. People do not need to panic.

The analysis of fruit itself also contains etheny Chang Shaodong said that ethephon is not a pesticide, and the fruit will secrete ethephon when it matures. Although there is no relevant argument for the safety of ethephon, the use of ethylene in fruit ripening has been in use since the 1970s and 1980s. At present, there have been no quality safety incidents. The public should look at science.

This reporter learned that currently, ethephon is used in ripening applications such as bananas and other fruits and tomatoes, cucumbers and other vegetables. In tomatoes, cucumbers and other vegetables, ethephon is generally used before flowering and pollination, which is more conducive to its fruit set, allowing higher yields, while bananas and other fruits are used only after harvesting.

"Taking tomato as an example, at least one to one and a half months will elapse between the use of ethephon and the marketing of tomatoes. In the process, ethephon will evaporate, and the actual amount of tomatoes listed on the market is very small," Chang Shaodong said.

As for vegetables, Chang Shaodong said that in leafy vegetables, ethephon is rarely used, and vegetables produced in the normal season do not need to use ethephon.

According to the national standard “Maximum Residue Limits of Pesticides in Food”, the maximum residue limit of ethephon in tomato (tomato) cannot exceed 2 mg/kg. The reporter found that the national standard for the application of ethephon only tomato, tropical and subtropical fruit, cottonseed three foods.

Fruits and vegetables can be ripened by natural methods Although agricultural experts currently believe that ethephon will naturally evaporate without residue and will not cause harm to the human body, medical experts still believe that it is possible to rationally use plant growth regulators such as ethephon within national standards. If used excessively or excessively, it may cause harm to human health. The public is still skeptical about the use of plant additives. In this context, is there a natural alternative to ethephon, which makes ripening of fruits and vegetables safer?

Chang Shaodong said that the fruit itself will release ethephon, especially mature fruits, ripe fruit ripening can be used. For example, put a ripe apple in a raw banana. Earlier, the head of a fruit and vegetable company also told reporters that he used this natural ripening method.

However, there is a time problem with the use of ethephon and ripening with the natural methods described above. Mr. Ding Mou, the general manager of Baisen Fruit, told reporters earlier that it takes about three days to ripen with apples, and that if you use vinegar for ripening, you can often get one in a day. “Running ripe with ethephon is more secure for the business, because you can ripen the fruit according to the sales situation.”

Ethephon can make fruit mature in a short period of time. Does this ripening fruit and natural ripe fruit have differences in appearance, taste and nutrition? Taking the same variety of bananas as an example, Ding Mou told the reporter that if the skin is ripened with ethephon, although the banana skin is the same color as natural ripe bananas, the skin of the former is still very thick and there is no such sweet banana flavor. . After all, ethephon ripening is infiltrated from the epidermis, mature skin does not mean that the banana is also mature.

Influencing the citizens to buy organic vegetables one after another Although at present there is no authoritative department to prove the harm of ethylene in the ripening of fruits and vegetables, the reporter found during investigation that many people in Guangzhou still have doubts. "If you eat these fruits and vegetables with ripening agents every day, will it not affect your health when it accumulates in the human body?" Mr. Choi said.

Some citizens have said that they are now buying pollution-free, green, organic vegetables and are more at ease. Reporters visited a number of supermarkets in Guangzhou and found that large supermarket chains such as PARKnSHOP, China Vanguard, and many companies all have sales zones for pollution-free, green, and organic vegetables. The reporter of the vegetable counter at China Resources Vanguard Newport West saw that there are twenty or thirty species of fruits and vegetables sold, and there are two regions, one is the ordinary vegetable of the real estate, and the other is a variety of regions. Label pollution-free, green, organic vegetables. In terms of price, the latter is more expensive than the former. The reporter saw that an ordinary greenhouse tomato costs only 4.5 yuan/kg, while the nearby pollution-free greenhouse tomato is sold at 7 yuan/kg, and a Dongsheng green tomato is sold at 8.5 yuan/kg. In addition, the weight of similar color pepper, marked on the supermarket commodity label colorful peppers, priced at 4.9 yuan a box, while marking the side of pollution-free color pepper is sold to a box of 11.2 yuan. General purple eggplant as long as 1.68 yuan / kg, the price of organic eggplant will go to 12.5 yuan / kg, the price has increased 7 times.

The salesman told reporters that although these green and organic vegetables are relatively expensive, they are still purchased by many people, especially many young people and white-collar workers. The reporter randomly interviewed 10 consumers who bought vegetables in the green and organic vegetable special zone. Among them, 8 consumers said that eating at ease was the main reason why they chose these expensive vegetables.

Remind organic vegetables or "falsification"

Due to the safety of eating, more and more people have chosen organic vegetables. Can the precious price really be exchanged for high quality and safety?

It is understood that there are currently three stages of food safety that are commonly used in the world from low to high: pollution-free foods - green foods - organic foods. “Organic vegetables, pesticides, and chemical fertilizers can never be used. There are also strict requirements for air, water, and soil. Large cities, such as Guangzhou, cannot meet the requirements for the cultivation of organic vegetables because of their advanced industries. Although organic vegetables are the future direction of development, they are now The output of organic vegetables on the market is very small, probably accounting for only 5% of the vegetable production.” Chang Shaodong said that everyone is now speculating on organic concepts. There are a lot of organic vegetables on the market. It is doubtful whether all organic vegetables are genuine.

The reporters saw in major supermarkets in Guangzhou that ordinary vegetables are “naked” in supermarkets, but green and organic vegetables are usually preceded by vegetable suppliers or supermarket plastic bags (11125,-55.00,-0.49%) or plastic boxes. Packing is good. For the identification of organic vegetables, consumers can only see their names from the price tag posted on supermarkets. In addition, the appearance of organic vegetables is not much different from ordinary vegetables.

Chang Shaodong stated that there are few real organic vegetables on the market, and that vegetables are good enough to be free from pollution. Pollution-free vegetables require vegetable companies to use highly efficient, low-toxic, low pesticide pesticides, and they also have strict indicators for pesticide residues. He also suggested that the public should try their best to choose the season when choosing vegetables.