Sale of Artificially-ripened Fruits Under the Lens

Ripe mangoes on display at a roadside fruit retail shop at Ernakulam market on Sunday

After receiving strict instructions from the State Food Safety Commissioner K Anil Kumar, the Ernakulam Food Safety Department has decided to intensify the inspections to quell the sale of artificially-ripened fruits, especially mangoes, in the district.

The order came after the authorities seized 620 kg of spurious fruits from the Agricultural Urban Wholesale Market (AUWM) at Maradu on Saturday.

Ironically, the Urban Wholesale Market at Maradu was used to be considered one of the major suppliers of naturally-grown fruits and vegetables in Ernakulam district, till a couple of days ago.

According to the authorities, the traders are now resorting to such illicit methods to ripen the produce, to meet the current high demand of fruits in the market.

They said that though there are several methods to ripen the fruits synthetically, the use of calcium carbide is the most common practice being adopted by traders in the state.

“Such ripening methods have increased drastically and we have already brought the issue before the Food Safety authorities of neighbouring states, including Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, as part of the mission to block the flow of artificially-ripened fruits from these states to Kerala.

“Moreover, we have strengthened the inspections in the district to exterminate such illicit sales, in coordination with the Shadow police. The raids will be conducted throughout the year,” said T A Abdul Majeed, Food and Safety Officer, Intelligence Wing, Ernakulam.

The Food Safety Department has urged the people to be careful while buying fruits this summer.

“There are some ways to identify the artificially-ripened mangoes. They will give off exactly the same smell as calcium carbide. Also, the mango will be consistently yellow, unlike the naturally-grown fruit which will have different shades on its body.

“There will also be a difference in the taste of the fruit, though that is not so easy to identify,” The officials said.

“ If anyone gets any information about the sale of artificially-ripened fruits in the district, they should register a complaint with the department by calling the toll-free number, 1800-425-1125,” the officials of the department said.

The department officials have warned the people about the ill-effects of consuming such fruits.

“By washing the fruits thoroughly, we can lessen the ill-effects of the artificially-ripened fruits to an extent. But even then, such fruits can cause major health hazards,” the authorities said.

“ The acetylene gas emitted by calcium carbide can lessen the oxygen supply to the brain. Other ill-effects include headaches, sleeping disorders, memory loss, mouth ulcers, skin rashes, renal problems and even cancer,” the authorities warned.