Sweetener, no rotting, light taste? Five questions about Sunshine Rose grapes, all you care about is here →

When a person is famous, there are many controversies. This grape is also famous, and there are many controversies! The recent popularity of Sunshine Rose grapes is due to its low price, about 9 yuan per catty, which is not much different from the price of most grapes on the market. Compared with the price of hundreds of yuan per catty when it was the hottest, the huge difference is impressive. The price has become ordinary, but the popularity is still high. However, compared with the initial unanimous praise, people's attitude towards it is a bit mixed now.

(Photo source: Xinhuanet)

The praises are still large, sweet, and long-lasting; the criticisms are also related to these characteristics. It is said that it is sweet because it is soaked in sweeteners, and it is long-lasting because it is coated with preservatives. At the same time, the pesticide residues in Sunshine Rose grapes are also on the lips of some people, and the rapid price drop has also left some people puzzled. Some of the lighter-tasting Sunshine Rose grapes on the market have made people who eat them doubt the reputation of Sunshine Rose. In response to these recent questions and confusions about Sunshine Rose grapes, the reporter interviewed Duan Changqing, a professor at China Agricultural University and chief scientist of the National Grape Industry Technology System .

01

Why did the price plummet?

Duan Changqing believes that grapes should have a reasonable price. A price of hundreds of yuan per catty is unreasonable in the long run. The earliest import price of Sunshine Rose grapes was more than 200 yuan per catty, and the domestic price began to be more than 40-50 yuan per catty. It has always been called the "Hermes of fruits". Last year, it was still around 20 yuan per catty. The price of Sunshine Rose was very high at the beginning. One reason was that it tasted really good and was loved by people; the other reason was that the overall output was not large at that time, and things were rare and expensive. The high price at the beginning was also reasonable. In recent years, the area, area and total output of Sunshine Rose planting in my country have increased significantly, and the industry has developed rapidly. At present, the total planting area is estimated to have far exceeded one million mu. With the development of the agricultural industry, the scale of production has continued to expand, and product prices have fallen accordingly. This is a general rule. The current price of Sunshine Rose grapes has returned to normal, which is a good thing for consumers.

02

Is it sweet because of added sweeteners?

Duan Changqing introduced that Sunshine Rose grapes are very sweet, one reason is that it is a high-sugar, low-acid variety, with low acidity and relatively high sugar content, which is basically around 20%, and some can reach more than 26%, so people will find it very sweet when eating it. Another reason is that this variety has a wide adaptability and can be grown in many places. In some areas with a large temperature difference between morning and evening, or through facility cultivation, the sugar accumulation is higher, and the Sunshine Rose grapes grown in these areas will be sweeter.

Regarding the online rumors of sweetening grapes by soaking them in sweeteners or adding sweeteners, Duan Changqing believes that the current Sunshine Rose grapes are already very sweet and do not need to be sweetened any more. Moreover, it is impossible to increase their sweetness by sweeteners in production and planting. At the same time, grapes that are too sweet on the market are not particularly popular now. As for the online rumors of adding sweeteners, it is actually the use of growth regulators to solve the problem of seedless grapes, which has nothing to do with sweetness. Moreover, all of these growth regulators are products that have been registered by the state and are allowed to be used safely. As the fruit develops, they will quickly drop to the normal safety permitted level in the plant after being used for half a month to twenty days in the young fruit stage, and there will be no safety risks.

03

Has the taste become lighter?

In response to this statement, Duan Changqing said that the taste of some Sunshine Rose grapes has indeed become lighter, which is mainly caused by the one-sided pursuit of grape yield per acre.

Duan Changqing said that Sunshine Rose grapes taste sweet and have a unique rose fragrance, but this high-quality product must rely on corresponding standardized cultivation technology and suitable light and heat conditions to be produced. Excessive yield will inevitably lead to a decline in quality. In recent years, due to the high price and good benefits of Sunshine Rose grapes, some producers have unilaterally pursued high yields, resulting in a significant decline in taste and a lighter flavor.

Duan Changqing suggested that the stable yield of Sunshine Rose grapes is the premise for ensuring high quality, and the yield per mu should not exceed one and a half tons. At present, the yield of Sunshine Rose grapes with high quality and high price in the market is generally one to one and a half tons per mu. Now some growers have a yield of two to three tons per mu. With such a high yield, the quality cannot be guaranteed.

04

Is it because of the preservatives that it doesn't rot?

Some netizens shared online that the Sunshine Rose grapes they bought had been in the refrigerator for more than a month without going bad, and they suspected that something had been applied to them to prevent them from going bad after so many days. Duan Changqing introduced that, in fact, the Sunshine Rose grapes have the characteristics of hard and crisp flesh and are more resistant to storage and transportation. Under wet and cold conditions, it is completely normal for them to not rot after being stored for 1-2 months, just as the Red Globe (commonly known as "Red Globe") grapes that consumers are familiar with can be stored on a large scale for more than half a year and can be transported across continents around the world. Sulfur dioxide sustained-release tablets are only used for long-term storage and transportation of grapes, but the sustained-release tablets used to control pathogens in the storage space do not come into contact with the grapes, and the sulfur dioxide in the grapes was not exceeded after testing.

05

Will there be any pesticide residues?

Some netizens have revealed online that a Sunshine Rose grape planting base used banned pesticides and fertilizers, causing serious pollution to the planting base. The authenticity of this matter is questionable, but it has indeed caused some people to worry about the safety of eating Sunshine Rose grapes.

Duan Changqing said that the use of banned pesticides is illegal, and the country has strict regulations. Even if such things exist, they are rare and individual cases, which is also the focus of national food safety supervision. Pesticides and fertilizers are not only used in grape planting, but also in other crops. In the grape production process, when pests and diseases occur seriously or the growth and development of grapes need to be regulated, pesticides registered and allowed for use by the state can be used, mainly fungicides and plant growth regulators, just like humans need to take medicine when they are sick. If pesticides are used in a standardized manner, there is generally no risk of pesticide residues, and pesticide residues will also accelerate degradation due to rain erosion, sunlight exposure and other influences. According to the monitoring and evaluation results of the Agricultural Product Quality and Safety Risk Assessment Laboratory (Hangzhou) of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and the Quality Safety and Nutrition Quality Evaluation Post Team of the National Grape Industry Technology System, the overall qualified rate of grape sampling nationwide in 2022 was 97.5%, and it can be eaten with confidence!