The harm of ripening agents to pregnant women

Due to the climate in the north, there are generally fewer fruits. Therefore, most of the fruits that appear in the north are shipped from the south. However, if ripe fruits release ethylene during transportation, they will become rotten after being transported to the north. Therefore, many merchants pick the fruits before they are ripe and transport them to the north. In order not to affect sales, many merchants will apply ripening agents to the fruits after they are transported. So what harm do ripening agents do to pregnant women?

There are three major hazards of irregular fruit ripening: some additives, especially chemical additives, have certain side effects on human health. First, fumigating fruits with sulfur or dyeing them conceals the state of the fruit itself and ripens raw fruits, which seems bright and shiny, but is actually a fraudulent act; secondly, fumigating fruits with sulfur will also destroy the vitamins and trace elements in the fruit during the fumigation process, reducing the nutritional value of the fruit; at the same time, eating fumigated fruits and non-edible pigments will cause harm to human health. Sulfur dioxide is generally acceptable for food preservation and freshness-keeping, but excessive use can easily cause chemical reactions to form sulfites, which can induce asthma and other diseases if left in fruit.

You can buy normally ripened fruits with confidence, there is basically no impact.

1. There is no effect. If the fruit is ripened with a normal dose of ethephon, pregnant women only eat a small amount, which will have no effect on themselves or the fetus. However, ripening agents are chemical products after all. For the health of themselves and their fetuses, pregnant women are best to choose seasonal fruits to eat.

2. Stimulation of the stomach and intestines. In order to ensure the quality of fruits during transportation, many merchants will pick the fruits when they are still green, and then use ripening agents to ripen them. Such fruits are ripe on the surface, but they are still green and unripe inside. Common ones include figs, mangoes, persimmons, etc. These fruits contain a lot of tannic acid and bioalkali when they are immature. If pregnant women eat them, it will irritate the stomach and intestines and cause fetal movement, which is not good for the fetus.

3 Allergies: Some fruits that are ripened by merchants using ripening agents contain alkaloids that are not completely metabolized, which can easily cause allergies in pregnant women after consumption. For example, mangoes that are ripened with a large amount of lime are only ripe on the surface. The content of alkaline tannic acid and other ingredients in them is very high, which may cause allergies if consumed by pregnant women with sensitive constitutions.

4 Food poisoning If fruits are ripened with ripening agents containing sulfur dioxide and formaldehyde, and pregnant women do not wash them thoroughly before eating, they may suffer from sulfur dioxide or formaldehyde poisoning after eating, and may also cause fetal malformations.

5. Irritating to eyes. The surface of fruits ripened with sulfur contains sulfur dioxide, which can irritate the eyes. If pregnant women consume them, they may experience eye discomfort, abdominal pain, diarrhea, etc.