Crackdown starts on traders using hazardous calcium carbide to artificially ripen mangoes; raids to be conducted at night, defaulters to be fined Rs 2-10L
After issuing a series of warnings and conducting a workshop to dissuade mango traders in the city from using calcium carbide to ripen mangoes artificially, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will now begin a series of raids from Thursday onward to crack down on defaulters.
Those caught will have to cough up a fine of anything between Rs 2 lakh and Rs 10 lakh, with six months imprisonment for this offense. At present, around 1,000-1,500 boxes of mangoes come into the city every day, which notches up to around 12,000 boxes at the height of the season.
Shashikant Kekare, joint commissioner (Food), FDA, said, “Artificial ripening using calcium carbide is banned under the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act (PFA).
The chemical, if consumed in large quantities, damages internal organs. Legal action will be taken against defaulters once lab results are out. However, traders are against the dictat saying it will affect their sales, and that the chemical has never caused any harm to anyone.”
“We will be conducting the raids at night because according to our information, they keep pouches of calcium carbide in cartons of mangoes overnight and remove them in the morning. We believe we should improvise on our modus operandi too to match theirs,” said S S Desai, FDA assistant commissioner (Food).
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India says on its website, “Chemicals like calcium carbide/ ethephon and oxytocin are reportedly being used in fruit and vegetable ‘mandis’/ farms for artificial ripening of fruits and for increasing the size of fruits and vegetables.
Calcium carbide, more commonly known as ‘masala’, is a carcinogenic agent and banned under Rule 44-AA of PFA Rules, 1955.”
Dr Abhay Desai, director of the Food Hygiene and Health Laboratory, said, “Calcium carbide and its crystals are toxic and banned by the government. The chemical reacts with moisture in the air and produces acetylene, which is similar to ethylene used for ripening mangoes.
This poses great health risks to consumers. Calcium carbide has cancer-causing properties, is capable of causing neurological disorders and also affects the lungs and digestive system.”
Shivlal Bhosale, president of the traders at Market Yard, said, “We have asked all the traders not to use the chemical following a circular issued by the FDA commissioner.
Most of the traders are now ripening the fruit with the help of ethylene gas. The latter, however, takes at least 10-14 days to ripen mangoes in comparison to calcium carbide, which ripens the fruit in two days, and is therefore not a preferred option.”
► Ethylene gas takes 10-14 days to ripen mangoes; calcium carbide ripens it in two days, so it is preferred
After issuing a series of warnings and conducting a workshop to dissuade mango traders in the city from using calcium carbide to ripen mangoes artificially, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will now begin a series of raids from Thursday onward to crack down on defaulters.
Those caught will have to cough up a fine of anything between Rs 2 lakh and Rs 10 lakh, with six months imprisonment for this offense. At present, around 1,000-1,500 boxes of mangoes come into the city every day, which notches up to around 12,000 boxes at the height of the season.
Shashikant Kekare, joint commissioner (Food), FDA, said, “Artificial ripening using calcium carbide is banned under the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act (PFA).
The chemical, if consumed in large quantities, damages internal organs. Legal action will be taken against defaulters once lab results are out. However, traders are against the dictat saying it will affect their sales, and that the chemical has never caused any harm to anyone.”
“We will be conducting the raids at night because according to our information, they keep pouches of calcium carbide in cartons of mangoes overnight and remove them in the morning. We believe we should improvise on our modus operandi too to match theirs,” said S S Desai, FDA assistant commissioner (Food).
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India says on its website, “Chemicals like calcium carbide/ ethephon and oxytocin are reportedly being used in fruit and vegetable ‘mandis’/ farms for artificial ripening of fruits and for increasing the size of fruits and vegetables.
Calcium carbide, more commonly known as ‘masala’, is a carcinogenic agent and banned under Rule 44-AA of PFA Rules, 1955.”
Dr Abhay Desai, director of the Food Hygiene and Health Laboratory, said, “Calcium carbide and its crystals are toxic and banned by the government. The chemical reacts with moisture in the air and produces acetylene, which is similar to ethylene used for ripening mangoes.
This poses great health risks to consumers. Calcium carbide has cancer-causing properties, is capable of causing neurological disorders and also affects the lungs and digestive system.”
Shivlal Bhosale, president of the traders at Market Yard, said, “We have asked all the traders not to use the chemical following a circular issued by the FDA commissioner.
Most of the traders are now ripening the fruit with the help of ethylene gas. The latter, however, takes at least 10-14 days to ripen mangoes in comparison to calcium carbide, which ripens the fruit in two days, and is therefore not a preferred option.”
► Ethylene gas takes 10-14 days to ripen mangoes; calcium carbide ripens it in two days, so it is preferred
No comments:
Post a Comment