VietNamNet Bridge – While analysts have rung the alarm bell over the abuse of agents to preserve fruits, the Plant Protection Agency affirmed it has not licensed any products.

Pham Thi Vuong, Acting Director of the Plant Protection Agency, when talking with Tien Phong’s newspapers about the substances used to preserve fruits, said she sometimes bought Chinese apples and oranges, but she did not eat them because the fruits still looked fresh after several months.

Vuong said fruit preservation substances have been used in many countries in the world to help keep fruits fresh for longer. However, in the countries, fruits still have been put into cold storage with the temperatures set specifically for different kinds of fruits.

“Meanwhile, we don’t know what technologies Chinese use to preserve their fruits. If the technologies are safe, we should learn from them,” Vuong said.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat has recently also put the “apple issue” into discussion, requesting to clarify the issue.

“I have heard that there are the substances which make fruits ripen more quickly and give better appearance to the fruits. It’s necessary to clarify the issue,” Phat said at a conference.

“Why are people afraid of ghosts? Because they don’t know what ghosts are. We need to examine the fruits and tell people which substances have been used to preserve the fruits, if the substances are safe to people. If not, we have to prevent the fruits from entering the market,” Phat said.

Nguyen Xuan Hong, Head of the Plant Protection Agency, affirmed that ripened fruits are not for export, because it’s very difficult to preserve the fruits. In general, fruits are harvested when they are still unripe and then they are covered up with safe substances.

By nature, the preservatives are safe, because they are derived from plant hormones or organic acid. The substances have the duty of restricting the “respiration” of the fruits, thus helping them stay fresh for longer.

When asked about the apples which stay fresh after many months, Hong said: “I am sure that the apples imported from the US, Australia or New Zealand can stay fresh for longer than the Chinese apples.”

The Plant Protection Agency has affirmed that it has not granted any license to any companies or individuals, which means no one has the right to trade, provide and use the substances that regulate the growth and stimulate the fruits’ ripening in Vietnam. This also means that all the substances being used to preserve fruits in Vietnam are illegal.

An official of the agency said the only chemical known in the world so far is Ethylene, a kind of natural plant hormone, used in agriculture to force the ripening of fruits.

Recently, some substances were found in the south and reported as the imports from China across the border gate. The agency, after the analysis, discovered that it was Ethephon 28 percent.

About Ethephon, Nguyen Nhu Tiep from Nafiqad affirmed it is safe, but he reminded people that there could be other substances, unsafe, were contained in the fruits.

However, an official of the agency said that two enterprises are planning to bring safe fruit preservation substances to Vietnam. It is expected that the first license on fruit preservation substances would be granted by the end of 2013.

Tien Phong