Madurai: Food safety officials from the district seized 440 kgs of mangoes ripened using the chemical ethephon from shops in North Masi Street and Simmakkal in the city on Thursday. The fruits were destroyed at Vellaikkal solid waste management centre after getting permission from Madurai corporation authorities.
With the mango season starting, the fruit is sold at various places including Yaanaikkal, Simmakkal, North Masi Street and Smart Fruit Market at Mattuthavani. Food safety officials have started conducting inspections at godowns and fruit shops to ensure that fruits ripened using banned methods are not sold to customers. According to the officials, although the usage of calcium carbide stones and ethephon acid are banned, traders continue to use them. Ethephon acid is sprinkled on fruits to uniformly ripen them.
The usage of ethephon, which is a growth hormone, can disrupt the endocrine system. Stomach trouble, ulcer and vomiting are the common problems seen if mangoes ripened using the chemical are consumed. Those who are allergic to the chemical may also suffer skin problems like rashes and itching, officials said. Though ethylene gas is allowed to ripen fruits, it requires infrastructure worth at least Rs 20 lakh. However, ethephon can be used after reducing its concentration to 10 ml in one-and-a-half litres of water though the solution cannot be applied directly on the fruit. The fruits are first spread across a surface and covered with paddy straw and then covered with cloth. The solution can be applied only on the cloth without contacting the fruit.
The designated officer for food safety, Madurai district, Dr M Somasundaram, has formed four teams, each containing four food safety officials, to continuously check for the usage of banned chemicals.
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