Pineapple makes a tasty and nutritious addition to any diet. It contains bromelain, with its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, along with enzymes that help to digest proteins. Pineapple also contains vitamin C and vitamin B thiamine. While eating fresh, ripe pineapple is healthy, consuming spoiled pineapple can cause digestive disorders and food poisoning. Making sure you know when pineapple is good to eat is essential to staying healthy.

  • Pineapple makes a tasty and nutritious addition to any diet.
  • While eating fresh, ripe pineapple is healthy, consuming spoiled pineapple can cause digestive disorders and food poisoning.

Feel the pineapple. If it feels too soft, the pineapple has become too ripe for consumption. Buy firm -- but not hard -- pineapples for serving at the table.

Look at the eyes of the pineapple. If the eyes look dark, the pineapple has become rotten.

Look for brown spots or bruises on the pineapple. Dark brown spots, blemishes and bruises are signs of an overripe pineapple.

  • Look at the eyes of the pineapple.
  • Look for brown spots or bruises on the pineapple.

Smell the pineapple. If you detect the smell of alcohol emanating from the pineapple, the fruit has fermented and become unfit for consumption.

Check for mould on the pineapple. Mold grows on rotten pineapples.

Check to see if sticky juice is leaking from the pineapple's crevices. Juice will start oozing from rotting pineapples.

Check fresh cut pineapple in the refrigerator for signs of spoiling. If the colour of the cut pineapple has turned brown, throw it away. Spoiled cut pineapple will also have juice oozing over the fruit.

  • Check to see if sticky juice is leaking from the pineapple's crevices.
  • Check fresh cut pineapple in the refrigerator for signs of spoiling.

Put a slice of banana in a jar of fresh cut pineapple. If the banana dissolves, the pineapple has gone bad.

Check for a chemical smell coming from the refrigerated pineapple. If you detect such a smell, throw the cut pineapple away because it has gone bad.

WARNING

A misconception exists that if the leaves of the pineapple come out easily, the pineapple has become overripe or has spoiled. This theory has no scientific basis; leaves sometimes come out easily from edible, just ripe pineapples.