As the traditional Chinese New Year approaches, cherries in supermarkets are becoming a sought-after item for people to purchase for the Lunar New Year. However, consumers in multiple locations have been expressing dissatisfaction through videos, reporting that the quality of cherries bought this year is generally poor, with issues such as “browning flesh, bitter taste, and dried stems” being observed. The consumer experience is likened to “opening a blind box”.
Recently, a video review posted by a netizen named “表哥” has sparked discussions. In the video, it was revealed that out of the 5 kilograms of cherries purchased, over half of the fruits showed signs of mold or rot, with the flesh appearing dark brown and having a bitter taste despite the stems remaining green.
The video’s comment section quickly amassed 21,000 comments, with many consumers in first-tier cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Hangzhou sharing similar experiences of poor quality cherries.
On social media platforms, numerous videos and posts exposing the cherry quality issues have been circulating. One user, “巧ki呦”, shared that the newly unboxed cherries almost all showed signs of decay, some with spots turning black and oozing sticky juice. She explained how even though the stems were green, a slight pinch revealed the flesh to be soft like cotton, emphasizing that the freshness of the stem was meaningless when the insides were all rotten.
Ms. Yu from Beijing disclosed that after purchasing cherries online, she discovered that “more than half of the box was moldy and rotten”. Initially, when she reported this to the e-commerce platform, the customer service only offered a compensation of 30 yuan based on the percentage of bad fruits. After unsuccessful attempts to negotiate, she had to resort to calling the consumer hotline 12315 to file a complaint, eventually leading to a refund.
In the comment sections of these videos, individuals shared their stories of purchasing spoiled cherries: “Spent 300 yuan on a box, and half of them were bad”, while others criticized: “Fresh stems are just a facade, the insides are already rotten”, with some expressing confusion: “Aren’t cherries supposed to be in season? Why the poor quality?”
The mentioned situations have been particularly prevalent from New Year’s Day to the nearing of the traditional Lunar New Year. As cherries are popular holiday gifts, any quality issues not only result in economic losses but also may lead to social awkwardness.
A consumer from Wenzhou bought cherries from a wholesale market for gifting. Despite the bright appearance, upon peeling, all the cherries were revealed to be rotten. The friends who received the gifts felt awkward to provide feedback, leaving the consumer feeling embarrassed.
Currently, one of the most heated online discussions revolves around why there is an abundance of spoiled cherries this year. Some netizens commented, “No wonder cherries were heavily discounted recently, turns out it’s not about clearance sales but clearing out rotten stock”, while others shared their experiences of being scammed, mentioning buying cheap cherries only to find the top layer looked good while the bottom layer was all moldy and rotten, making it impossible to differentiate between good and bad cherries.
According to a report by Southern Net, concerning the reasons for the cherries’ decay, Dr. Cheng Yujie, a Ph.D. from Northwest A&F University and an external tutor, analyzed that this year, the Lunar New Year falls later than usual, but cherries hit the market early. Some wholesalers initially stockpiled goods in anticipation of good prices, resulting in a high concentration of supply later on. The stockpiled cherries in cold storage facilities deteriorated due to prolonged storage.
Cherries in the market are generally classified into two types: unpacked imported cherries and original box packaged cherries. If unpacked imported cherries are purchased, the gas preserved around the cherries dissipates rapidly, promoting faster decay due to enhanced respiration activity of the fruits.
Moreover, if original box packaged cherries are bought, which are typically packed in paper boxes and plastic films weighing between 1.35kg to 2.5kg, the preservation quality is relatively better.
Additionally, cherries purchased online could suffer from diminished shelf life due to the bumps and temperature changes during express delivery transportation.