Watermelons in summer are one of the top fruits used to beat the heat in Pakistan. Recently, news about “injecting” watermelons has gone viral. Here is a detailed analysis of this news by BBC Urdu.
A few days ago, I overheard a conversation when my mother brought a watermelon from the market. When she cut it open, it was red inside, but her joy vanished when our maid standing nearby said, “Watermelons are being injected with red dye to attract more customers.”
A few days later, I heard similar rumors on social media that watermelons are being injected with ‘sweet red dye’ to make them look red and taste sweet.
On social media, an influencer named Dr. Afan posted a video poetically starting with “Everything is red,” claiming that injecting watermelons with red dye is causing food poisoning and cholera cases. And then this news became viral on social media and this was discussed at almost every home.
Yes, this is the same Dr. Afan who previously called samosas a ‘400-calorie atomic bomb’ while discussing the calories in this popular Pakistani snack.
Hearing such rumors about my favorite summer fruit made me anxious, so I decided to find out if watermelons are being injected with anything to make them red, and if so, whether it makes them harmful to our health.
When I asked Mohsin Bhatti, president of the Consumer Solidarity System, about these rumors, he laughed and said he eats watermelon for breakfast every day during summer.
Mohsin Bhatti explained that watermelons have three layers: a dark green outer rind, a nearly half-inch thick white rind, and the red flesh inside.
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He questioned, “How is it possible that if an injection is given, it only reddens the flesh but not the white rind?”
He said that if you inject ink from a pen into a watermelon, you will see that the ink will also change the color of the white rind.
Meanwhile, retired professor Dr. Shahid Javed Butt from Rawalpindi Agricultural University said that the rumors about injecting watermelons in Pakistan cannot be completely dismissed.
In his opinion, this practice is “not very common in Pakistan.”
Mohsin Bhatti said that when watermelons are picked from the fields or vines, they are harvested just before they fully ripen.
He explained that the watermelons are then loaded onto trucks, reaching the market in a couple of days. From there, they are distributed to local fruit sellers and then to customers.
“This process takes several days, during which the watermelons ripen naturally due to the weather and their color deepens.”
He added that if watermelons were punctured with injections, “their shelf life of four to five days would be reduced to just four to five hours.”
“Who would be foolish enough to reduce the shelf life of their product from days to hours?”
To clarify further, he gave an example: “Before bringing watermelons home, we have them cut to check if they are red. If you leave a cut watermelon in direct sunlight instead of the fridge, it will spoil within two to three hours and become inedible.”
“If something airtight and untainted is punctured and adulterated with needles, it’s impossible for that watermelon to reach the customer in good condition.”
Every Fruit Has a ‘Natural Color’
Many people on social media are concerned that food poisoning, cholera, and other illnesses in the summer are caused by watermelons injected with red dye to make them appear red and sweet.
However, according to Mohsin Bhatti, it’s not the watermelons but our eating habits that are the issue. He explained that when we cut watermelons at the market to check their color, the knife might not be clean, leading to health problems.
In a video, Dr. Afan cleaned a watermelon with a tissue, showing that the color on the tissue was not from the watermelon but from the injection. Mohsin Bhatti clarified that many fruits release color. For example, strawberries stain your hands red, and mangoes can stain clothes. This doesn’t mean they are injected; these colors are natural.
Bhatti also emphasized that spreading such rumors harms consumers by making them avoid fruit and also hurts farmers who are already struggling.
Professor Dr. Shahid Javed Butt pointed out that farmers sometimes use chemicals during cultivation to speed up growth and enhance color. He mentioned that watermelons contain lycopene, which gives them their red color, and antioxidants, which help fight cancer.
However, Dr. Butt noted that if an injection is used after the watermelon is fully grown, it would look very different from the natural color. Such an injection could spoil the outer rind and the inner flesh of the watermelon.