If there is one item that we should include in our daily diet, it is fruits because besides veggies, fruits are an extremely important part of nutrition that provides us several essential vitamins and nutrients vital for our bodies. However, we must never purchase or eat fruits blindly as like any organic material, they are prone to rot, fungus or harbor infection which isn’t always the case but can crop up sometimes if we aren’t careful.
The color of fruits denotes the type of nutrients it contains and many follow this diktat in choosing fruits and vegetables according to color. Unfortunately one mother from UK while also following this practice for purchasing bananas ended up with a huge fright that made her daughter extremely ill. She later found how the bananas were the culprit and the main reason for her daughter getting severely sick. Read on to find out why and how this happened.
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This mother from UK had purchased bananas from a store and gave her daughter one to eat. Soon after the girl took terribly ill. Fortunately, the mother has sense to suspect the bananas which not many would have done. After all, bananas even when they are over ripe and mushy will never make anyone sick. When this mother cut open the bananas that her daughter had eaten, she found a red streak that ran down the banana. This instead wasn’t a color of vitamins, it was contamination.
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Lisa Merlin picked up bananas during her regular routine of purchasing groceries. As everyone in the house loved the yellow fruit which is a favorite of many, Lisa brought home a bunch but never expected what was in store for her.
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When she came home, she gave one to her daughter Dionne who ate it but soon after the girl took terribly ill. She felt nauseous and uncomfortable and was displaying symptoms of stomach infection similar to food poisoning.
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Lisa then decided to check the banana as it was too much of a coincidence that the girl got sick immediately after eating the banana. Lisa found a reddish black streak running along the inside of the core of the fruit.
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The red streak was a sign the banana had been contaminated with a fungus and that’s what made her daughter sick with infection.
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The reddish discoloration turned out to be mold contamination by a fungus called Nigrospora Sphaerica. Although its name itself sounds deadly, surprisingly it isn’t considered harmful to humans. Nigrospora is a different type of fungus.
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Nigrospora Sphaerica is a black mold defined as an airborne fungus found in soil, plants and fruits. It has not been found to be pathogenic except to cause usual bouts of hay fever and possibly asthma. However it is not considered a clinical toxin for humans. Initially white, sporulation of the fungus turns it reddish black in color.
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Lisa wasn’t taking any chances. She decided to take her daughter to the local hospital for a checkup. The girl was treated and soon released with a full recovery.
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Lisa wasn’t the only person with an encounter with fungus tainted bananas. One more parent from Liverpool said that she noticed red veins ruinning down the pulp of her favorite fruit. She noticed this as she peeled the banana. She remarked that she had never seen anything like it before and decided to throw it away.
Lisa also made a complaint to the store from where she purchased the contaminated banana. They released a statement ‘we are sorry for Mrs. Melin’s daughter’s distress. This product did not meet our strict quality standards. However, we would like to assure her that it is a naturally occurring mold which is not harmful to humans.’
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The fact that these bananas purchased by these people turned out to be contaminated isn’t a reason to stop eating bananas. You can always tell after peeling the fruit if something looks wrong.
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Bananas are a rich source of vitamins and minerals such as vitamin B 6, Folate, vitamin C. It also contains magnesium and is one of the richest sources of potassium required for electrolyte balance and is an intracellular ion vital for bodily function. Bananas also contain tryptophan the feel good hormone that also helps you sleep and is good source of dietary fiber.
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