Calcium carbide used for artificial ripening of mangoes being removed at a shop in Chinna Kadai Veedi in Salem on Friday.— PHOTO: P. GOUTHAM
Beware! All the mangoes you buy from the market may not be naturally ripened. Consuming mangoes that are artificially ripened using calcium carbide causes serious health hazards including diarrhoea, burning sensation in abdomen, skin ulcers, irritation in mouth, nose and throat and also peptic ulcer.
Though use of the chemical is banned under The Food Safety and Standards Regulations, 2011, wholesalers, retailers and small traders continue to use carbide so that mangoes get ripened between 12 and 24 hours (natural ripening takes two to three days). With the mango season setting late and the demand at its peak, traders in the district find it difficult to meet the requirements. Hence, the artificial ripening comes handy for them and the consumers’ health is taken for granted.
“Ethylene gas fastens ripening in mangoes. The mangoes were plucked prematurely and artificial ripening is done to make a quick buck. It has no Vitamin A, but poses only health risk,” says a dietician of a private hospital.
On Friday, a team led by T. Anuradha, District Designated Officer, Tamil Nadu Food Safety and Drug Administration Department, inspected shops in Chinna Kadai Veedi and found over hundred kg of carbide used for ripening more than three tonnes of mangoes. She warned traders that action would be taken against them if they used carbide. She asked them to dilute 0.1 mm of Ethrol, which improves colouring and uniform ripening, in 10 litres of water and spray it over the mangoes so that ripening takes place in less than two days.
She toldThe Hindu that naturally ripened mangoes would become yellow gradually and have good aroma. “Instead of buying ripened mangoes, people can buy mangoes and naturally ripen them at home by placing them in a container for three days,” Ms. Anuradha adds.
Though use of the chemical is banned under The Food Safety and Standards Regulations, 2011, wholesalers, retailers and small traders continue to use carbide so that mangoes get ripened between 12 and 24 hours (natural ripening takes two to three days). With the mango season setting late and the demand at its peak, traders in the district find it difficult to meet the requirements. Hence, the artificial ripening comes handy for them and the consumers’ health is taken for granted.
“Ethylene gas fastens ripening in mangoes. The mangoes were plucked prematurely and artificial ripening is done to make a quick buck. It has no Vitamin A, but poses only health risk,” says a dietician of a private hospital.
On Friday, a team led by T. Anuradha, District Designated Officer, Tamil Nadu Food Safety and Drug Administration Department, inspected shops in Chinna Kadai Veedi and found over hundred kg of carbide used for ripening more than three tonnes of mangoes. She warned traders that action would be taken against them if they used carbide. She asked them to dilute 0.1 mm of Ethrol, which improves colouring and uniform ripening, in 10 litres of water and spray it over the mangoes so that ripening takes place in less than two days.
She toldThe Hindu that naturally ripened mangoes would become yellow gradually and have good aroma. “Instead of buying ripened mangoes, people can buy mangoes and naturally ripen them at home by placing them in a container for three days,” Ms. Anuradha adds.
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