Eating the summer fruit longan without washing its peel could irritate the nose and throat, and even trigger an asthma attack in serious cases, the Consumer Council warned yesterday.
Its sample testing of 11 batches of longans found that most of them contained sulfur dioxide, a chemical used to fumigate the fruit. While the flesh of the brown fruit did not contain the chemical, the council warned that it could travel from the fingers of the peeler to the flesh before being eaten.
To avoid this, fruit lovers should wash longans under running water while holding the stalk. The council did not recommend washing longans by stripping them from the stalk and soaking them in water because the chemical could travel through the peel in water.
Consumers should wash their hands after peeling and must not bite or chew on the peel.
'Do not take away the stalk because by doing so, it could cause abrasion,' said Matthew Ng, chairman of the council's publicity and community relations committee.
The news travelled quickly to Sai Wan Ho market yesterday, where many fruit stallholders said they saw a visible drop in sales for the popular fruit.
'Throughout the whole afternoon, only three people bought longans,' said one vendor. 'Normally we have at least 22 people buying them.'