Trichy: Despite the warning against spraying ethylene directly on mangoes for ripening, traders in the city continue to break the rule and use the hazardous method of spraying the chemical directly on the fruit. The food safety official seized 500kg of illegally ripened mangoes from the Gandhi market on Thursday.
The food safety and drug administration department has intensified its vigil as the mango season is at its peak. The team led by its designated officer (DO) Dr R Chithra visited the Gandhi market in city on Thursday.
The team found out that the traders spraying ethylene directly on raw mangoes in their godowns in the market. The officials also pointed out the texture of the mangoes that were in direct contact with ethylene.
The major portions of the mangoes were seized from two godowns. The seized mangoes worth Rs 30,000 were destroyed at the dump yard of Trichy City Corporation at Ariyamangalam on Thursday evening.
The food safety and drug administration department had asked the traders to use ethylene gas to ripen the mangoes till last year. But the traders violated the producers and covered the mangoes with ethylene sprayed sheets making the fruit harmful.
As in the case of carbide stones, mangoes having direct contact with ethylene will also cause health hazards. The onus is now on the food safety department to tackle the violation in the use of ethylene for ripening mangoes.
From this year, the department has devised a new method with the help of the agriculture department that a sachet of ethephom can be used for ripening mangoes without touching the fruit. The sachet, dipped in water, should be kept in a box near mangoes for 24 hours for the raw mango to turn into a fruit.
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