After the sting, everything recovers. On a warm day, in the streets, alleys, market supermarkets, red color, sweet and sour strawberries have become one of the most popular fruits among consumers. However, there are also many people who have doubts, especially when they encounter strawberries that are very large or somewhat deformed, and they are always worried about whether they have used hormones with "toxic side effects". Food science experts tell us that such concerns are unnecessary. Do malformed strawberries have hormones Those big, strangely shaped, hollow strawberries are "eating" hormones? In fact, "hormones are not the only cause. Ruan Guangfeng, director of the Science and Technology Department of the Science and Technology Exchange Center of Kexin Food and Nutrition Information Exchange Center and member of the expert committee of the China Internet Joint Rumor Dispelling Platform, said in an interview with the China Consumer Daily reporter. First of all, the size of strawberries is related to the variety, and some varieties are naturally larger, such as red strawberries, fragrant strawberries, red grapefruit and so on. Secondly, through continuous cross-breeding, large varieties can also be cultivated, which is particularly prominent in European and American strawberry varieties. Again, proper flower and fruit thinning can also get larger strawberries. Some people buy strawberries specifically to pick small ones, thinking that there will be no hormonal problems, and it is safer and safer. Ruan Guangfeng said that the small size of the strawberry does not prove that it has not used hormones, and some hormones do not make the strawberry larger, but only increase the result rate and accelerate the growth rate. In addition to the "abnormality" on the head, under normal circumstances, strawberries should be chicken heart shaped (conical). However, people can often see deformed strawberries with obvious vertical shapes, small pits at the tip, or chicken crowns. Ruan Guangfeng analyzed that the use of hormones may indeed lead to strawberry malformations, but in most cases, strawberry malformations are still caused by insufficient pollination, and there are many reasons for insufficient pollination, including insects, low temperatures and environmental factors, and it is not necessarily close contact with hormones. There is a view that "hormone strawberries" are long and ripe, so there are more hollows, it is easy to break open by hand, and the flesh is white. Normally ripe strawberries, on the other hand, are rarely hollow and not so easy to break open. Ruan Guangfeng said in this view that some hollow strawberries are indeed related to hormones, but they are not absolute, and some varieties of strawberries have small pulp density and are prone to hollowness. The hormone strawberry must be toxic Expansion hormone, which is a hormone related to strawberries, is actually a plant growth regulator, and it is not as scary as some people think. Ruan Quang Feng explained that the commonly used extruders such as chloropyramide and gibberellic acid were first developed by Japan in the 1980s and then introduced to China. Expansion hormone is widely used in fruits and vegetables, it can promote plant cells to double the secretion of cytokinin, increase the number of plant cells to divide per unit time, and at the same time promote the secretion of auxin, so that cells grow larger, and then increase the fruit. Some people say that the intake of strawberries with a large amount of expansion hormone residues can cause great damage to the health of kidney disease patients. It is also said that the accumulation of bulking hormone in the human body can cause cancer. Are all of this true? Ruan Guangfeng said that scientists' research in mice found that the acute poisoning dose of oral expansion hormone in mice was 4918 mg per kilogram of body weight. If exposed to long-term exposure, it may cause protein disturbances in the body. However, the amount of plant hormones used is generally very small, and under normal conditions, the degradation rate of expanded hormone is faster. Generally, after 24 hours of spraying on plants, 60% of them will degrade. Even if it enters the animal's body, the bulking hormone will not "rely on" and not go, and the expanded hormone eaten by the rats in the experiment only retains 2% in the body after 7 days. At the same time, the long-term effects of low-dose bulkin on liver and kidney function are still being further studied, and there are no reports of carcinogenicity of bulkin. Therefore, from the current research results, the expansion of the hormone is still very safe, and the strawberries that have been sprayed with the expanded hormone are not "poisons". In fact, expansion hormone is not without shortcomings at all. Nguyen Quang Feng said that while expanding the fruit, it will have some effect on the taste of strawberry fruit. A 2001 experiment at Shihezi University in Xinjiang found that the use of bulking hormone may increase or decrease the total acid content of strawberries, making the harvested strawberries either sour or light and tasteless. At the same time, although extruder can increase the volume of the fruit, it will also cause the peel to become thinner, making the strawberry more perishable and difficult to transport. In most cases, the appropriate use of bulking hormone can help the excess nutrients stored in strawberry plants to run into the fruit and play a role in regulating balance. Ruan Quang Feng further explained that the bulking elements such as chloropyrurea and gibberellomic acid are all plant growth regulators that are allowed to be used in the mainland, and the approval of registration clearly stipulates the medication period, dosage, administration method, scope of use and safety interval period. Generally speaking, the use of bulking hormone in a stubble fruit is not more than 2 times at most, in some special cases, individual fruit growers want to quickly ripen the fruit, the proportion of medication may far exceed the prescribed standard, but once detected, what awaits them will be a severe punishment. Therefore, from the above two aspects, the use of expanded pigments in excess of the limit is actually a matter of not worth the loss. Ruan Guangfeng concluded that when consumers buy strawberries, as long as they choose strict formal channels such as shopping malls and supermarkets, they do not have to worry about buying so-called unhealthy strawberries. If you consider from the perspective of pursuing better quality, you can choose strawberries with well-proportioned and full fruit types, uniform color distribution, and rich and attractive fruit aromas. For strawberries that may have traces of the use of bulking hormones, there is no need to worry too much, and there is no need to stop eating strawberries because of this worry. (Reporter Li Jian) ● Related links Strawberry cleaning, eating, and preservation photos Do this on the "berry" problem Delicate strawberries, without peel protection, are easily injured and damaged, infected with microorganisms and rot and deteriorate. Therefore, strawberries need to be washed and stored with extra care. Cleaning: first brew and then brew Nguyen Quang Feng, director of the Science and Technology Department of The Science and Technology Department of The Science and Technology Exchange Center of Kexin Food and Nutrition Information Exchange Center, reminds consumers that cleaning strawberries can be divided into three steps: the first step, rinsing. Continuous flushing with running tap water for several minutes can remove most of the bacteria, pesticide residues and other contaminants on the surface of the strawberry. Do not soak the strawberries in water first, and do not take off the strawberry stalks to soak, so as not to dissolve the residual pesticides into the water and then be absorbed by the strawberries and penetrate into the inside of the fruit. The second step is to soak. Steep the strawberries for 3 minutes to allow insects or eggs attached to the surface of the strawberries to float up so that they can be washed away by water. Ruan Guangfeng believes that soaking strawberries with rice water or light salt water does not actually clean off more pesticide residues, and do not soak strawberries with detergents such as washing ling, these substances are difficult to clean. Third, rinse again. Before eating strawberries, remove the strawberry stalks and rinse them 3 to 5 times with tap water, or 1 rinse with cool boiled water to completely remove the impurities that may remain on the stalks. Especially people with bad stomachs, don't be afraid of trouble. Edible: Should not be excessive Strawberries are berry "made" with water. According to the Data of the Chinese Food Ingredient List (2009), more than 90 grams of every 100 grams of strawberries are water, and there are about 7 grams of sugar, so it tastes smooth and sweet. Although strawberries are delicious, remember not to overdose. Ruan Quang Feng reminded that the surface of strawberries is full of small seeds of fiber, which cannot be digested and absorbed by the intestine, but will stimulate intestinal peristalsis and promote the faster excretion of intestinal contents. Some people with weak stomach and too little stomach acid are easily troubled by diarrhea if they eat too many strawberries. Strawberries are very delicate, washed with the original intact skin, sometimes there will be patches of whitish damage. These damaged places are most likely to breed bacteria. If it is injured during cleaning, it can be eaten after washing, but if it is moldy, do not eat. Preservation: The best cold meal The study found that strawberries are suitable for preservation in the shade below 10 degrees, if the temperature is too high, strawberries are easy to rot and deteriorate or dry and shrink due to water loss. Therefore, it is best to put strawberries in the refrigerator after buying them home, and when the temperature is low, they can be placed directly in a cool and ventilated place. Before preservation, choose fresh strawberries that are intact, pay attention to handling them gently, try to keep its surface intact, and then use a plastic box or plastic wrap to isolate the air. With this method, do not exceed 2 days at most. Fresh strawberries are also not easily spoiled when kept in a frozen environment. The method is to wash the strawberries, drain them and put them in a crisper box, and then freeze them. When you want to eat it, take it out and dissolve it, and the taste may be slightly inferior to that of fresh strawberries, but it is not bad. (Reporter Li Jian) Source: China Consumer Daily