Mangoes seized, destroyed

The FDA today seized mangoes worth Rs 5000 from a fruit vendor Curchorem for artificially ripening the fruits, officials said.

Food Safety Officers team of Abel Rodrigues, Priya Desai and Niranjan Naik seized the fruits from Sultan Kachur’s go-down at Priti apartment, near the Curchorem railway station.

The mangoes were artificial ripened using Chemical Ethopon, which is an chemical used as Plant Growth Regulator. However, since the ripening is done artificially using Chemicals, FDA destroyed the mangoes. The mangoes have been dumped at the Cacora garbage site.

“This is to only to send a loud and clear message that no ripening of fruits using chemicals will be allowed or tolerated by FDA,” FDA Director Salim Veljee said.

Yesterday the FDA seized and destroyed Rs 1.5 lakh worth of Alphonso mangoes as retailers and wholesalers race to get better rates from the market putting consumers at risk in their bid for a quick buck