For your protection, regardless of the type of melon, buy duly labeled products that come with brand seals and indications of origin and that allow the type of product, its origin and the exporters and importers to be identified. Labels are the preferred way of letting the consumer know the product’s properties and origin.

If you buy pre-packed fruit, read the product instructions and sell-by date carefully.

Try and choose a heavy melon and one that is not damaged in any way.

Gently press the melon’s navel. When it is ripe it gives a little, but if it is very soft it might be past its best.

You can gently shake a melon. If the seeds are loose inside it is probably past its best.

Sometimes it is possible to check whether a melon is ripe from its smell; the sweeter it smells the riper it is.

Carefully handle any type of melon, because just like any fruit it is sensitive to knocks.

Before eating any fruit, carefully wash it in running water. If necessary gently rub the surface with a soft sponge, bet never use detergents or bleaches.

Do not assume that pre-packed fruit is suitable for immediate consumption. Make sure it has been well washed. If not, wash it again.

Generally speaking, fruit that is not fully ripe should be kept at room temperature, while ripe fruit should be kept in the refrigerator.

Still unripe long-life melons, like yellow, orange flesh and toad skin melons, can last up to a week if stored in fruit bowls in a dry and well-ventilated place, protected from direct sunlight and wrapped in suitable paper. After this period, if they have not been eaten they must be kept in  a refrigerator at a temperature of between 7.2  - 10°C for no more than 7 days.

If ripe fruit is not immediately eaten it should be kept refrigerated under the conditions indicated above.

Keep unripe cantaloupes at room temperature, preferably wrapped in sheets of paper. When they are ripe eat them immediately or transfer them to your refrigerator.

If ripe cantaloupes are not eaten immediately they should be kept refrigerated at between 2 - 4°C, preferably wrapped in plastic, because they can easily absorb the odors from other foods stored alongside them. The fruit should be eaten in less than a week in order not to lose its high nutritional value.