Gaurav Taneja, aka Flying Beast, explained that the fruit was purchased by his wife, Ritu, from a local vendor for a late-night snack.
Popular YouTuber Gaurav Taneja, better known as Flying Beast, recently sparked online safety concerns after sharing a video of a watermelon oozing heavy foam. In a vlog titled “Tarbooz Mein Nikala Zeher (Poison found in watermelon)”, Taneja explained that the fruit was purchased by his wife, Ritu, from a local vendor for a late-night snack, only to find it exhibiting strange chemical-like reactions the following morning.
Taneja stated that since the watermelon was big in size and the refrigerator did not have any space left, his wife left the watermelon outside on the kitchen counter. However, the next day, the fruit started foaming rapidly.
“Even after I returned from the pooja around 9:45 am, the watermelon was still foaming,” said Tanej, adding: “It was then that Ritu told me that the watermelon had been foaming since morning.”
After the foaming did not stop late into the night, Taneja took the watermelon to the shopkeeper, who sold it to his wife. The vendor explained that no chemical had been applied to the watermelon, adding that gas had formed inside the fruit.
As of the last update, the video had garnered over 200,000 views and hundreds of comments as social media users speculated what could have caused the watermelon to foam. While some expressed fear that the excess pesticides may have caused the foaming, others highlighted that the phenomenon was likely caused by natural fermentation due to extreme summer temperatures.
“A foaming watermelon is rapidly fermenting and rotting internally, often due to high heat, damage, or bacterial infection, and should never be eaten,” said one user, while another added: “That’s internal fermentation caused by the bacteria. In hot weather, bacteria break down the sugar and cause this fermentation.”
A third commented: “It was kept at a high temperature for too long. Always store fruits in the refrigerator. Bacterial growth happened inside the fruit, due to which it fermented from the inside, which is why there was gas buildup.”
Mumbai Watermelon Case
Taneja’s video comes in the backdrop of the tragic death of a Mumbai family of four after they consumed watermelon. While initial reports suspected food poisoning, forensic examinations have since confirmed the cause was actually lethal chemical poisoning, with traces of rat poison found in the fruit.