Vijayawada: Given usage of banned calcium carbide and ethylene beyond permissible limits as well as ethephon for quick ripening of fruits, especially mangoes and bananas, food safety authorities have started launching drives to curb such illegal practices in AP.Teams of officials from the food safety department have started visiting the wholesale markets and cold storage facilities to collect fruit samples and check the chemicals and their quantum used for ripening of fruits.The practice of using chemicals for ripening of mangoes and bananas has been in vogue for some time. But given the huge demand for fruits during summer, a section of farmers and traders are placing sachets of banned calcium carbide among the collection of fruits to artificially ripen the fruit quickly, so that it could be sold.Similarly, mangoes and bananas are placed in ethylene chambers at storage points. Though 100 ppm of ethylene is permissible for usage, a section of farmers is using ethylene beyond this limit to ripen fruits and make a quicker buck. In addition, there are reports of farmers using ethephon in the form of liquid in a diluted form. This liquid is being sprayed on fruits for their quick ripening. Some farmers even dip bunches of bananas in the diluted ethephon. A section of fruit consumers is alleging that chemicals are being injected into watermelons to ensure that the colour inside is red and attractive. Food safety authorities have ruled out such a practice saying watermelon does not accept any foreign material within it.Officials from stakeholder departments are also carrying out awareness drives among farmers and traders against use of chemicals for artificial ripening of fruits. People who consume such fruits develop intestinal disorders. They may even cause cancer in some cases.Food Safety joint controller N. Poornachandra Rao said, “We are inspecting wholesale fruit markets and storage facilities. We will initiate action as per norms if farmers and traders are found guilty of using banned chemicals for ripening of fruits.”
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