For a long time, people’s attitude towards anti-seasonal fruits has been very subtle. Some people feel that seasonal fruits are the healthiest, and anti-seasonal fruits are against the laws of nature and should not be consumed; similarly, there are also some people who feel that anti-seasonal fruits are rare and have enriched the variety of fruits. The Analects of Confucius has the saying “from time to time, do not eat”, so with the development of science and technology, modern people use a variety of ways to get out of season fruits, is it really not suitable for consumption?
First of all, we need to be clear about what exactly are the anti-seasonal fruits on the market today? According to the current categorization standard, there are usually 3 forms of “out-of-season fruits”.
First, long-term preservation, with the rapid development of long-term preservation of fruits and vegetables, preservation technology, the original “seasonal” fruits in the refrigeration preservation technology, to extend the storage life, after the production season can also still become the choice of consumers. Common fruits such as bananas, grapes, apples, oranges, pineapples, etc. are picked in warmer times, stored, and preserved through the winter to meet almost year-round supply.
Secondly, “greenhouse planting”, as a more popular agricultural projects in recent years, the strong insulation effect of greenhouses so that fruits and vegetables in a warmer environment, in the greenhouse, they are not affected by the cold weather, but still can grow and meet the needs of the people. Greenhouse planting in the cold winter brings us many fruits. This is also a very common practice at present.
The third is off-site planting, which is possible thanks to easy access to transportation. It is possible that a fruit plant is out of season in one place, but in another place it is in season. In China, for example, Guangdong, Hainan and other southern regions due to the warm climate, even in winter there are still a lot of fruits and vegetables can be planted, all belong to the local seasonal fruits and vegetables. Fast and convenient logistics can deliver these local seasonal fruits to thousands of households.
From these classifications of anti-seasonal fruits, if there are no dangerous factors in their growth, transportation and storage, then anti-seasonal fruits are edible. However, there are still many people in the community who are still worried about anti-seasonal fruits. Some people think that anti-seasonal fruits use a lot of pesticides in the cultivation process, which can be harmful to health. This concern is actually biased, because in-season fruits will also use pesticides in the cultivation process. As long as the standardized cultivation of fruits and melons, normal consumption will not be harmful to human health. National sampling results also show that greenhouse fruits and vegetables pesticide residues exceed the standard phenomenon is not more serious than the natural field growth of fruits and vegetables. It is important to know that the label “out of season” is not the same as pesticide residues, the type of pesticides applied, the amount of pesticides, as well as the length of degradation time (refers to the last application of pesticides to the time to market and sell) is the decisive factor. To eat safe anti-seasonal fruits, on the one hand, the state should strengthen the supervision and improve the scientific awareness of vegetable farmers, so that they are in accordance with national standards and the amount of requirements, the use of high-efficiency, low-toxicity, low-residue pesticides. On the other hand, consumers for safety reasons, can be used before eating fruit “ventilation drying, baking soda soaking, running water cleaning, boiling water blanching” and other ways to remove more than 80% of pesticide residues.
In addition to the problem of pesticide residues, some people feel that anti-seasonal fruits need to use plant hormones, eating them will make people precocious. This rumor has also exploded in the circle of friends, so that many parents are afraid to buy anti-seasonal fruits. First of all, in the modern planting process will use a certain amount of plant growth regulators, also known as plant hormones. Both in-season and out-of-season fruits may be used. Also, all fruits naturally contain some amount of plant hormones. However, the potency of phytohormones is generally very low and they do not have the same molecular structure and mechanism of action as human hormones and do not have adverse effects on the human body.
In short, the emergence of anti-seasonal fruits or because of the development of planting technology, the past fruits due to the time of year, but the new planting technology to break the climate constraints, for plant growth to provide the right light, temperature, water, soil. Or because of the development of transportation, the original distant road becomes the obstacle to the transportation of fresh fruits, but air transport, land transport, sea transport and other means of transportation for people to eat from other regions of the so-called anti-seasonal fruits to provide conditions. The emergence of anti-seasonal fruits is actually a good thing, people can get nutrients and supplements from them, especially vitamins and minerals. However, the availability of out-of-season fruits is not without its drawbacks. Compared to in-season fruits, they are expensive to transport and preserve, and they are also relatively expensive. At the same time, compared with locally produced fruits, the nutrients of out-of-season fruits may be lost during long-distance transportation. Also, because the growing and storage conditions of anti-seasonal fruits are not as good as those of in-season fruits, the taste, flavor and nutrient content of the hoard are definitely not as good. For example, the sugar content of greenhouse tomatoes is lower than that of naturally grown tomatoes, and the protein and vitamin C content of greenhouse cucumbers is also reduced.
So, we have to take the rumors and advantages and disadvantages of anti-seasonal fruits with a normal mind. Modern life gives us more choices when buying fruits. The emergence of anti-seasonal fruits also brings us a different taste experience in different seasons, and also serves as a good source of vitamins, minerals, and dietary fiber for the human body.