Are Exploding Chinese Watermelons Another Warning Sign?

The Exploding Watermelons!  It sounds more like a name for an indy rock band than a problem in the produce fields of China. But it is not a band. Apparently watermelons are exploding all over China.

Thanks to overzealous spraying of something called a "growth promoter," Chinese watermelons are literally bursting. The BBC coverage claims:

An investigation by state media found farms in Jiangsu province were losing acres of fruit because of the problem.

ACRES OF FRUIT? Imagine the coverage that would be generated by the news media in America if acres of farmland were decimated by bursting melons.

Perhaps there is a fear that amateur MythBusters would attempt to recreate the phenomenon:

h/t to geek.com for the video of the electrified melon explosions above

Australia's Nine network covered the watermelon story as well and pointed out the following:

China is battling rampant misuse of pesticides, fertilizers and food additives, like dyes and sweeteners, meant to make food more attractive and boost sales.

"Rampant misuse." Those words should trigger a serious response in American consumers. After all, China is responsible for many large product recalls and problems:

• Shipping tens of millions of lead paint covered toys
• Baby bibs tainted with lead
• Melamine tainted dog food killed untold numbers of dogs
• Powdered milk was also found to have melamine in it
• Candy from China was discovered to contain melamine as well
• Tainted drywall from China is causing problems all across America

While China's exports flood this country and are often cheaper on the store shelves, they may carry serious hidden costs that pop up later. Could this be a sign?