Chennai: The Tamil Nadu Food Safety Department has instructed its officials not to release public “awareness” videos about watermelon this summer, saying such content could again hurt farmers.
With summer beginning in the state, consumers are buying cooling foods such as tender coconut and watermelon in large numbers. While awareness campaigns are usually carried out to prevent harm from alleged chemical adulteration in fruits, the department said last year’s messaging had unintended consequences.
In 2025, a video released by the then Chennai district designated officer Satheeshkumar claimed that chemically mixed watermelon appears deep red, while non-adulterated fruit is light pink. It also suggested wiping the fruit with tissue paper and treating any colour stain as a sign of chemical mixing.
According to the report, watermelon sales were affected after the video, with prices falling sharply—from around Rs 14,000 per tonne to about Rs 3,000. Farmers staged protests against food safety officials, and although a denial was issued, sales did not recover significantly.
Food safety officials said watermelon is a healthy, cooling food in summer and reiterated that videos likely to impact farmers should not be released. They also said officials have been advised to scale down inspections as elections are approaching this year.
