Formalin is highly toxic. Just came to my mind, thought I'd say that. I'd never heard of formalin causing ripening. A though soaking will preserve organic material against rotting, for example a biological sample for research, but the required amount often changes the color of the object and the consistency of the tissue. I really don't know what you're looking for with your question, because I see no relevance of anything here to software.. You can try again, this time leaving out statements of what you don't know, and working with what you do know.