More than 10 tonne of bananas that were ripened using ethylene solutions were seized by food safety officials from six shops at the Koyambedu Wholesale Fruit Market here in the early hours of Wednesday.
Food safety officials said vendors were diluting ethylene with water. The solution was then sprayed over the fruit and kept inside airtight rooms to speed up ripening process.
Designated food safety official A Ramakrishnan said several boxes of chemical packed in 100ml bottles were seized from the shops. “The use of ethylene in gas form is allowed. But direct contact with the fruit leads to harmful chemical contamination,” he said.
The seized fruit would be destroyed in the biomechanisation plant at Koyambedu.
Ethylene – a hormone produced naturally – is permitted for artificial ripening provided the concentration does not exceed 100 ppm (parts per million). In the gas from, under controlled concentration, ethylene, being a natural hormone, does not pose any health hazards to consumers, the guidance note points out.
Experts say these chemicals tend to stay in the body for longer periods and cause health issues such as skin rashes, digestive issues, cardiac and kidney ailments and cancer.
Nearly 40 vehicles, each carrying around eight tonne of raw bananas, come into the market every day, according to S Srinivasan, president of Chennai Fruits Commission Agents Association. “Raw bananas are transported to prevent damage during transport,” he said.
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