The Aurangabad division of Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently organised a workshop on the disadvantages of using calcium carbide for fruit ripening at Shetkari Niwas Krishi Utpanna Bazaar Samiti, Jadhavwadi, Aurangabad. It was attended by Chandrashekhar Salunkhe, joint commissioner, Aurangabad FDA, wholesale fruit vendors and other senior officers.
The workshop was organised to point out the unsafe ripening practice carried out by the fruit vendors by the use of harmful chemicals like calcium carbide, which are hazardous to the human body. It focussed on how to curb such harmful practices. It was suggested that farmers and sellers use ethylene to ripen the fruit instead.
Ganesh Kulkarni, chief executive officer, Greentech India Ltd – a key speaker at the workshop – said, “More than 95 per cent of the fruit sold in local markets are artificially ripened and may take a toll on the health of the consumers. The compound calcium carbide is used to ripen huge quantities of mangoes, bananas and other fruits.”
“By bringing artificially-ripened mangoes into the market before those which go through the natural ripening process enter it, the traders make a quick buck. Only the outer layer of a fruit that has been artificially ripened becomes yellow in colour, while the flesh inside remains raw,” he said.
Kulkarni stated, “Although the government has banned the use of the chemical for the purpose, a large number of traders and fruit growers continue to use it for commercial gain. Consumers who eat these fruits could develop mouth ulcers, gastric problems and skin rashes, and in the long run, it could also cause asthma and even cancer.”
Discussing the scientific method of ripening, which is safe, he said, “Ethylene is one alternative. When the fruit is exposed to ethylene under controlled conditions of temperature and relative humidity, a uniform rate of ripening can be achieved. Moreover, the quality of fruit that ripens naturally is also superior.”
“Calcium carbide reacts with the moisture in the air and releases acetylene, which stimulates the ripening process. It changes the colour of the fruit very fast, but the fleshy part does not become sweeter. But when natural ethylene is used under controlled conditions, the fruit ripens as a whole,” Kulkarni explained.
