Smelly fruit in Asian market almost leads to evacuation of shopping center

EA durian fruit offered in an Asian market, also known as the stinky fruit, almost led to the evacuation of a large shopping center near the main train station in Munich.

As the Munich fire brigade announced on Wednesday, a passer-by dialed the emergency number 112 on Tuesday because of an alleged smell of gas in a supermarket in the shopping center.

Fire brigade forces and police forces therefore moved in, and the police officers were ready to help clear the supermarket.

Ban in hotels, airports and buses

While firefighters determined the gas concentration in the air with measuring devices, the emergency services noticed the Asian market next to the supermarket, where the stinky fruit was offered and identified as a possible cause of the alarm. After the measuring devices did not show an increased gas concentration, the fire brigade ended the operation again.

In many places in Southeast Asia, the fruit is banned from the home. There are signs and stickers at hotels, airports and public transport in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia that refer to the ban on the fruit. Anyone who takes them with them anyway must expect a hefty fine. The smell of a durian is difficult to get from enclosed spaces. For many, it borders on disgust, especially ripe fruit stinks. Researchers have found that the smell is due to the dithio hemiacetals (sulphur-containing compounds) contained in the fruit.

On the other hand, the pulp of the giant prickly fruit weighing up to four kilos is sweet: locals also call the durian “queen of tropical fruits”.