Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Maharashtra officials in Aurangabad seized 30 bags of sweets, each weighing 30kg, from a private luxury bus that arrived in the city's Cidco area from Ahmedabad.
The sweets, locally marketed as special barfi, were estimated to be worth over Rs 1 lakh, and were brought to the city in unhygienic conditions. The company that owned the bus was fined Rs 15,000 for not having procured licence under the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA), 2006.
Chandrashekhar Salunkhe, joint commissioner (food), FDA, Aurangabad, said, “About 900kg of special barfi was seized following a tip-off, and samples of the same were sent to the laboratory for analysis. We are awaiting the results of the test, based on which further action will be taken.”
“The sweets, which had travelled for about 10 hours in humid temperatures alongside tubes, tyres and other rusted material, were to be delivered at Parbhani. While transporting food, it should be stored in clean and dry conditions with other food items only,” he added.
Workshop
Meanwhile, Salunkhe and other senior FDA, Aurangabad, officials attended a workshop on the disadvantages of using calcium carbide for fruit ripening, organised in the city by the state food regulator recently.
Speaking at the workshop, agricultural equipment supplier Ganesh Kulkarni said, “More than 95 per cent of the fruit sold in the local markets are artificially ripened. Consuming these may take a toll on the health of the consumers.”
“Although the government has banned the use of the chemical to accelerate the ripening of the fruit, many traders and fruit growers continue to use calcium carbide for the purpose to make a bigger profit,” he said.
Kulkarni said that those who consume the fruit become susceptible to a host of ailments, including mouth ulcers, gastric problems and skin rashes. “In the long run, it could also cause asthma and cancer,” he added.
“In artificially-ripened fruit, only the outer layer becomes yellowish and the inner part remains raw. Calcium carbide is used to ripen huge quantities of mangoes, bananas and other fruit,” Kulkarni said.
“Unscrupulous traders want to make a quick buck by bringing in artificially-ripened mangoes before those which go through the natural process of ripening (which takes longer) to enter the market,” he added.
Kulkarni propagated the scientific method of ripening, stating that it could be done using ethylene and under controlled conditions of temperature and relative humidity. He said, “The growers can get a uniform appearance and quality of ripe fruit under these conditions.”
He explained that fruit are exposed to ethylene under controlled conditions, a uniform rate of ripening could be achieved. “When growers use calcium carbide, it reacts with moisture in the air and releases acetylene, which stimulates the ripening process. It changes the colour of fruit very fast, but the inner part does not get sweet. But when natural ethylene is used under controlled conditions, the fruits ripen as a whole,” he added.
Milind Sewalikar, a fruit grower who adopted safe methods for ripening, also shared his experiences with the participants. He said growers could use simple and cost-effective techniques in place of calcium carbide, adding that there are other methods available for growers.
“We can control the temperature and humidity to achieve the desired results,” Sewalikar added.
The sweets, locally marketed as special barfi, were estimated to be worth over Rs 1 lakh, and were brought to the city in unhygienic conditions. The company that owned the bus was fined Rs 15,000 for not having procured licence under the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA), 2006.
Chandrashekhar Salunkhe, joint commissioner (food), FDA, Aurangabad, said, “About 900kg of special barfi was seized following a tip-off, and samples of the same were sent to the laboratory for analysis. We are awaiting the results of the test, based on which further action will be taken.”
“The sweets, which had travelled for about 10 hours in humid temperatures alongside tubes, tyres and other rusted material, were to be delivered at Parbhani. While transporting food, it should be stored in clean and dry conditions with other food items only,” he added.
Workshop
Meanwhile, Salunkhe and other senior FDA, Aurangabad, officials attended a workshop on the disadvantages of using calcium carbide for fruit ripening, organised in the city by the state food regulator recently.
Speaking at the workshop, agricultural equipment supplier Ganesh Kulkarni said, “More than 95 per cent of the fruit sold in the local markets are artificially ripened. Consuming these may take a toll on the health of the consumers.”
“Although the government has banned the use of the chemical to accelerate the ripening of the fruit, many traders and fruit growers continue to use calcium carbide for the purpose to make a bigger profit,” he said.
Kulkarni said that those who consume the fruit become susceptible to a host of ailments, including mouth ulcers, gastric problems and skin rashes. “In the long run, it could also cause asthma and cancer,” he added.
“In artificially-ripened fruit, only the outer layer becomes yellowish and the inner part remains raw. Calcium carbide is used to ripen huge quantities of mangoes, bananas and other fruit,” Kulkarni said.
“Unscrupulous traders want to make a quick buck by bringing in artificially-ripened mangoes before those which go through the natural process of ripening (which takes longer) to enter the market,” he added.
Kulkarni propagated the scientific method of ripening, stating that it could be done using ethylene and under controlled conditions of temperature and relative humidity. He said, “The growers can get a uniform appearance and quality of ripe fruit under these conditions.”
He explained that fruit are exposed to ethylene under controlled conditions, a uniform rate of ripening could be achieved. “When growers use calcium carbide, it reacts with moisture in the air and releases acetylene, which stimulates the ripening process. It changes the colour of fruit very fast, but the inner part does not get sweet. But when natural ethylene is used under controlled conditions, the fruits ripen as a whole,” he added.
Milind Sewalikar, a fruit grower who adopted safe methods for ripening, also shared his experiences with the participants. He said growers could use simple and cost-effective techniques in place of calcium carbide, adding that there are other methods available for growers.
“We can control the temperature and humidity to achieve the desired results,” Sewalikar added.
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