Chennai: Officials from the state foodsafety department seized nearly five tonnesof artificially ripened fruit from wholesale stores at Koyambedu market during the wee hours of Sunday.
A team comprising of officials from CMDA’s Market Management Committee and the local police assistedthefoodsafety department in raiding the shops based on complaintsfrom the public.
Five tonnes of artificially ripened mangoes, sapotas and ethylene-sprayed bananas packed in boxes and ready for salewere seized, said the designated food safety officer RKathiravan.
Rolls of butter paper with calcium carbide, used to artificially ripen the fruit, were also seized. Officials estimated the total value of the seized products to be more than ₹10lakh.
Since the seized food items (the fruit) were of perishable nature, officials and local sanitary workers destroyedthem.
Calcium carbide is banned under Section 44A of the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act. There is, nonetheless, widespread use of the chemical by traders to hasten the ripening process.
Doctors say artificial ripening substances that contain traces of phosphorus or arsenic and could damage the kidney and liver, and cause gastric problems and ulcer.
Officialssay artificially ripened mangoes are mostly a bright and uniform yellow, rigid and lack the juiciness or “press” that naturally ripened mangoeshave. The natural rigidity will be missing while cutting these fruit and they will have almost no taste, officials added.
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