Injected Watermelons: What We Found Inside Your Favourite Summer Fruit

In February 2025, Hyderabad authorities uncovered a disturbing practice—artificial chemicals being injected into watermelons to enhance their colour and sweetness. A raid in a local warehouse exposed the use of substances like anthocyanin and synthetic food dyes injected directly into watermelons using syringes.

Workers admitted that about 10 ml of chemical solution was injected per fruit, altering both appearance and taste. While these may look fresh and juicy, you could actually be serving your family toxic chemicals.

🔬 What We Found at ChoosePure

At ChoosePure, we decided to test this ourselves.

We purchased watermelons from high-end supermarkets in Bengaluru — the kind many urban parents trust for “premium quality.”

After lab testing 10 different samples, we found that:

8 out of 10 watermelons were adulterated with artificial colorants like erythrosine — a pink dye linked to thyroid dysfunction and neurological issues.

Yes, even the ones priced higher and sold in air-conditioned aisles.

Health Risks of Adulterated Watermelon

Adulterants like erythrosine and synthetic red dyes can:

• Damage your digestive and nervous systems

• Cause thyroid irregularities

• Lead to hormonal imbalances and behavioral issues in children

• Increase long-term toxic load on the liver and kidneys

These chemicals aren’t listed anywhere. You can’t smell or taste them. But they’re there — silently harming you.

How Can You Tell if a Watermelon is Safe?

Here are a few tips:

• Inspect the skin: Strange dark spots or injection holes? Avoid.

• Check the colour: If it’s unnaturally red or has odd patterns — red flag!

• Additionally, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) recommends a simple test to detect adulteration

  1. Cut the watermelon in half to expose the pulp.​

  2. Dab a clean cotton ball onto the pulp.​

  3. If the cotton ball turns red, it indicates the presence of chemical dyes like erythrosine, suggesting adulteration. 

  
  

How ChoosePure Helps

We’re a community of parents who pool small contributions to get food products tested in certified labs — and watermelon was just one of many eye-openers.

You vote. We test. You get easy-to-understand, transparent reports.

We’re currently building a waitlist of 1000 parents willing to contribute ₹100–₹200 a month to help test more products like:

• 🥛 Milk

• 🌾 Flour

• 🥥 Ghee

• 🌶️ Spices

• 🍯 Honey

Let’s stop guessing what's safe. Let’s test, compare, and make better decisions together.

📢 Join the ChoosePure Waitlist

We’ll start testing more products as soon as we reach 1000 members.

🔍

Because your child deserves purity in every bite.💪 And together, we can demand better.