Mumbai: The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has confiscated and destroyed 26,000 kg of artificially ripened mangoes worth Rs 1.93 crore in the past one month. The state body found clandestine godowns on the highways or fringes of cities being used to ripen the mangoes usingcalcium carbide.
Many farmers had urged Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar recently to stall the FDA crackdown. Pawar's office is believed to have spoken to the FDA.
The FDA said on Monday that the mangoes were to be supplied to Mumbai, Thane, Pune, Navi Mumbai, Akola and Aurangabad. Food safety officers sought permission from municipal corporations and dumped the mangoes, before destroying them with compactors.
"The use of calcium carbide to ripen fruits is a violation of the Food Safety and Standards Act. It is a known carcinogen and can have far-reaching health effects," FDA commissioner Mahesh Zagade said. Food safety officers have been speaking to farmers and mango traders for three years, educating them about the hazards of artificially ripening mangoes, he said.
Calcium carbide is the commonest chemical agent used to ripen mangoes. "The carbide gas that emanates from calcium carbide is used to ripen mangoes. It is a serious threat to health as it also contains traces of phosphorus and arsenic. Carbide is actually used in welding works," said joint commissioner S S Kale. He added that the trucks carrying mangoes are parked outside warehouses for two days, when the mangoes are sprayed and then sent to various places.
Zagade said the onus to recognize naturally ripened fruits also lies on citizens. "Artificially ripened mangoes will not have wrinkles," he said.
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