The District Food Safety Wing of the Tamil Nadu Food Safety and Drug Administration Department, seized 720 kg of chemically ripened mangoes on Tuesday.
A team of food safety officials, led by Dr. M. J. C. Bose, District Designated Officer, made a surprise inspection at the godown and found that the mango merchant had used calcium carbide to speed up ripening of mangos.
Dr. Bose said the merchant, who procured the mangos in the pre-ripening stage from Madurai, had stocked them in the godown. The officials seized the mangoes, worth about ₹. 40,000 and destroyed them in the compost yard.
