Exploding watermelons spark more food safety concerns

More than 47 hectares of watermelons in Jiangsu province exploded in the fields, most likely because of the use of a growth-accelerating chemical and sudden rainfall after a drought, Bloomberg reported, citing state media. Wang Liangju, a professor at Nanjing Agricultural University, said an accelerant called forchlorfenuron may have cause some of the melons in Danyang city to burst, while heavy rainfall may have caused the remainder of the bursts. However, Bob Morrissey, executive director of the US National Watermelon Association, said: “Watermelons do not burst only from rainfall.” The news comes as China steps up food safety enforcement on concerns that contamination scandals could trigger social unrest.