How to choose the right watermelon and not get poisoned
Как правильно выбрать арбуз и не заработать отравление 01.08.2022

The favorite summer delicacy is already being sold with might and main in the markets and shops. However, choosing a ripe and safe watermelon is not so easy. A Zakon.kz correspondent talked to an expert and found out what to look for when choosing a berry and where you absolutely can’t buy watermelons.

Sadvakas Baigabulov, First Deputy Chairman of the Board of the National Center for Expertise of the Sanitary and Epidemiological Control Committee, said that it is better to buy watermelons by mid-August, when the fruit comes to its natural ripening and has a minimum amount of nitrates.

Now on sale you can find watermelons from the Turkestan region and Uzbekistan. They differ only in sweetness. The more water used in cultivation, the less sweet the fruit. Therefore, the sweetest upland, but they ripen by the end of July - the beginning of August.

In July, 22 samples of watermelons were examined by the National Expertise Center, 11 of them were found to be non-compliant.

When growing watermelons, substances are often used to accelerate growth and nitrogen-phosphorus fertilizers. The allowable dose of nitrates in watermelon is 60 mg/kg. Nitrates themselves do not pose a strong threat to the body, but when they enter the intestines, under the action of enzymes and microflora, they turn into nitrites, which are hemoglobin poison. Once in the blood, they convert hemoglobin into methemoglobin, which is not able to carry oxygen and carbon dioxide. When its proportion in the blood reaches 30%, symptoms of acute poisoning appear, suffocation, tachycardia, pain in the back of the head, weakness, and pressure decreases. Sadvakas Baigabulov

Choosing a ripe and tasty watermelon is not so easy. According to the expert, the following factors should be taken into account:

  • skin appearance;
  • the size;
  • spots on the side;
  • tapping sound;
  • color and structure of the pulp;
  • sale season.

Ripe watermelon skin is dark green and dense. It is difficult to push it with a fingernail. But if the fruit was removed from the melon ahead of time and the peel did not have time to gain density, then it is easy to scratch it. The tail of the fruit should be dry, not green, - said Sadvakas Baigabulov.

The sweetest watermelons are "girls". How to distinguish: the “boy” has a convex bottom on the opposite side of the tail, and a small circle. The “girls” have a flatter bottom, and a wide circle.

ягода, бахчевые

You can not buy watermelons along the roads, they quickly accumulate heavy metals from passing cars. Also, do not shop at spontaneously organized bazaar points.

The place reserved for the sale of melons and gourds must be reliably protected from the sun and rain. The point of sale should be under a canopy, and watermelons should be stored in special pallets. Also, the seller must have a certificate for the goods, - added Sadvakas Baigabulov, First Deputy Chairman of the Board of the National Center of Expertise.

In addition, it is not recommended to buy cut watermelons. The berry is a good breeding ground for microorganisms, and when contaminated in the pulp of watermelon, they develop very well. All of these can lead to food poisoning. By the way, a knife used to cut a berry can also be a source of infection.

Before use, watermelon should be washed well with a brush under running water, and then thoroughly wiped with paper towels. Be sure to use clean knives and cutting boards. You need to store cut watermelon in the refrigerator, but not more than a day.

Source: www.zakon.kz