Is the Produce in America OK? TikTokers Share Videos of Rubbery Fruits

Of all of the odd things found on the internet, the increasing trend of people finding foods that are seemingly made of rubber has been one of the more baffling ones. TikTok users have been sharing videos of rubber avocados, flexible slices of watermelon, and bendable bananas, claiming they'd just purchased them from the store.

Though it's easy to dismiss these videos as users trying to cause concern for views or just to troll viewers, is it possible there's some truth to them?

A new unsettling trend TikTok users may be seeing across their For You pages is rubbery fruit. Produce items like avocados and watermelon are bending, twisting, and squishing in unnatural ways, giving them a rubber-like appearance and freaking out consumers. In these videos, the users claim to have just purchased their produce from the grocery store, believing it to be fresh but finding it may be better suited for display than consumption.

The users in these videos showcase the odd ways their produce moves and bounces back. Watermelon slices that should break apart twist like Olympic gymnasts without a crack, while bananas bend in half without breaking and easily restore their shape.

Though many are ready to dismiss the TikToks as fake, there are plenty of people on Reddit who have echoed similar experiences, sharing their befuddlement at finding bendy and rubbery produce.

"The best way to describe it is that you can bend the watermelon slice & banana fully in half & it doesn't break," Reddit user Negative-Tradition-5 commented on a post about the odd produce all over TikTok. "The banana is stretchy & difficult to pull apart. The avocado was cut into slice[s] & literally squeezed between my palms & it resumed its original shape. It's actually disgusting & terrifying b/c what are they doing to our food that could possibly create this awful crap?"

There are a couple of theories as to why consumers are taking home these odd fruits, though there's no official explanation just yet. The common consensus is it has to do with the bioengineering of the produce. Bioengineering is often used to help certain produce items stay fresh longer, helping shoppers get more bang for their buck when they go grocery shopping.

As is the case with most things on the internet, there's also the chance it's all a lie to generate clicks and views. But if this is the case, then there are multiple people across social media sites who are committing to the bit and determined to convince viewers of their flexible produce.

Unfortunately, it doesn't seem that we have any clear answers at this moment about the cause of these oddly-behaved fruits people across the U.S. are picking up in grocery stores — though it may be best to hold onto your receipts and return anything that doesn't behave like a normal piece of produce (just in case).