200kg of Mangoes Destroyed

200kg of Taiwanese mangoes were destroyed in Hong Kong

Hong Kong mango fans are in distress after hearing the news that 200kg of the sweet yellow fleshy fruit were destroyed after one was found to have Covid-19 on its skin.

It also just so happens that the shipment came from Taiwan.

The move follows Macau's decision to impose a one-week ban on mangoes from Taiwan as well after traces of Covid-19 were found on the fruit.

How many mango puddings made from 200kg?

Hong Kong's Centre for Food Safety said the virus was detected on the skin of one of the mangoes in a shipment weighing 200kg.

CFS told the distributor to stop sales of the distributed mangoes, remove the rest and destroy them.

"Samples of similar products will continue to be tested for Covid-19," the CFS added.

It has been proven over and over that Covid-19 is spread through aerosols, not on surfaces, and yet China, Macau and now Hong Kong are determined to perpetuate this fear that is completely scientifically wrong.

Meanwhile on Twitter, people were upset that the mangoes were wasted, and that if they were triple jabbed, why couldn't they eat the fruit? And besides, they wouldn't be eating the skin anyway.

Imagine how many people would have happily enjoyed biting into the sweet fruit in so many different ways, from slices to topping it on tapioca or on shaved ice, or making mango pudding, or jam, ice cream and smoothies...

Covid-19 was found on the skin of one mango

We're getting hungry just thinking about it.

But all those mangoes have been wasted all in the name of protecting citizens from Covid-19.

The ridiculousness, my friend YTSL reminded me, is on par with the culling of hamsters. Actually what happened to those little furry critters is worse than the destruction of mangoes. But finding Covid-19 on the skin of a fruit that won't even be consumed is totally absurd.