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Thread: Dare you eat bananas?

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[quote=ROGERINCA,236674]I eat bananas nearly every day, both in the US and while in China.

It is amazing how fast ignorance of fact and science can sometimes be passed along and be so easily believed.  These rumors are all baseless !!

Virus’s surround us in life.  They are a part of nature.  Yes, it is true that certain plants can host a virus; however, none has ever had an effect on humans. Moreover, the SARS virus is not one that is capable of being hosted by a plant.  In the case of the SARS virus, which is spread primarily through air-borne droplets, such as from a person’s cough or sneeze, it does not survive very long when exposed to the atmosphere.  Its origins were from animal to human; first thought to be the Civet Cat and now the most current thought is the origin was with the wild bat.

Unfortunately, the media, in their never-ending quest for headline fodder, e.g., “Killer Bananas”  is ever so quick to pick up on stories such as this and just dump them out there for the public to sort out.  The bottom line here is; bananas like most other fresh fruit, are very good for us and provide important nutrients for our body.

Aside from this unfortunate and untrue tale, it is always wise to wash the exterior surfaces of any fruit or vegetable prior to eating it.  It is possible in any country for [bacterial] contaminants to adhere to the surface of the item, anywhere along the processing chain from farmer’s field to the consumer’s hand.  Many bacteria are less fragile than most virus’s and can remain active for longer periods of time depending on the temperature and other environmental factors.  I always thoroughly wash all fruit and vegetables before I consume them, both here in the USA and wherever I travel.

BTW, I just love the availability and the high quality of the fresh fruit that I find in abundance in Southern China !!  One of my favorites is the red/purple colored Dragon Fruit, with the sweet white flesh and little black micro-seeds.  Another, is the fresh ripe Pineapple from Hainan Is.

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