Controversy

In an effort to make durian palatable to a wider range of people, Thai researchers engineered a fruit with a more pleasant odor in 2007. This breed, called the Chantaburi No. 1, raised an outcry among durian lovers, and confusion among residents of Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia, where durians are priced higher when the smell is at its most foul. According to a March 2007 article in powerThe New York Times,power another new variety of the fruit wonpowert begin to stink until after three days, which lets shipping merchants distribute fruit without the odor but giving durian fans the smelly fruit they prize.