PANAJI
The rampant practice of artificially ripening fruits has come into sharp focus after a series of raids and checks conducted by officials of the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) at Mapusa, particularly the sub-yard market there. Fruit traders have been unscrupulously ripening fruits using chemicals, mainly bananas and mangoes.
The FDA teams, led by Richard Noronha, who is the designated officer for North Goa, seized and destroyed 180 kilograms of artificially ripened mangoes in mid-April. A few days later, nearly two tonnes of chemically ripened bananas were seized and destroyed at Cunchelim.
Speaking to 'The Goan', Noronha said that the lack of facilities where traders can adopt the approved methods of artificially ripening fruits at the Mapusa sub-yard is the crux of the problem.
"Traders then take to artificially ripening fruits on a mass scale with unauthorised chemical agents, needing constant monitoring so that this produce, which sometimes has residues of chemicals, is halted from reaching people's kitchens," Noronha said.
The FDA, he said, is doing its best to address the use of unauthorised ripening agents.
Why artificial ripening?
The natural ripening process of fruits involves physical and chemical changes which make them sweet, coloured, soft and palatable.
Farmers and traders, however, often resort to 'artificial ripening' using chemical agents, in a bid to calibrate the rate of the process, prolong the fruit's shelf life and sometimes make the fruit available before or early in the season when it fetches premium prices.
However, according to various science journals, artificial fruit ripening is regulated by laws to either control it or ban it altogether, because of the potential health hazards related to the chemical ripening agents. Ethylene, a hormone naturally produced within the fruit, regulates fruit ripening.
But in Goa, traders use chemicals such as chemically synthesised ethylene, methyl jasmonate, calcium carbide, ethephon and ethylene glycol to replicate this process artificially.
Ethylene and methyl jasmonate are non-toxic for human consumption but since they are expensive, traders tend to use cheaper chemicals like calcium carbide, ethylene glycol and ethephon to artificially ripen fruits.
Calcium carbide, when it comes in contact with moisture, releases acetylene gas, which has fruit-ripening characteristics similar to ethylene. Ethephon, in the presence of moisture, decomposes into ethylene gas, biphosphate ion and chloride ion, which can have adverse effects on human health.
Calcium carbide consumption can cause stomach disorders. Also, workers involved in using it for ripening fruits are vulnerable to serious health threats”dizziness, frequent thirst, irritation in mouth and nose, weakness, permanent skin damage and difficulty in swallowing.
Also, consumption of ethylene glycol could lead to possible kidney failure, according to multiple science journals.
Indian food laws, according to Noronha, ban the use of carbide gas for fruit ripening under Rule 44 AA of the Prevention of Food Adulteration Rules 1955. This practice is harmful as it can lead to health hazards due to the release of toxins.
What the law permits
According to Noronha, the ripening of fruits using ethylene gas in a chamber is a method closest to the natural process as it happens on a tree.
"It is expressly approved and permitted in the law," Noronha said, adding that traders use unacceptable processes, including dipping the fruits in ethylene liquid. "This process leaves behind chemical residue on the fruit which, if consumed, is harmful," Noronha said.
He said Margao already has modern 'ripening chambers' and work to set up one in Mapusa is in process.
Govt to set up ripening chambers at Mapusa
The Goa Agricultural Produce and Livestock Marketing Board (GAPLMB) has begun the groundwork to set up a fruit ripening chamber at the Mapusa sub-yard.
A tender has already been floated to set up the 'chamber', which will be temperature-controlled and sensor-driven, and which fruit traders can use to ripen mangoes and bananas.
Consumer speak
"The need of the hour is the proposed artificial ripening chamber and related infrastructure to be set up in Mapusa by the Goa State Agricultural Produce and Livestock Marketing Board. It must be fast-tracked by the government if the illegal methods for ripening of fruits in Mapusa are to stop," said noted consumer rights activist Roland Martins.
He said that on numerous occasions, raids and inspections by the FDA teams have exposed this illegal means of artificially ripening fruits at the Mapusa sub-yard.
"The demand for fruits not only comes from locals but also tourists. In this context, it is important that consumers must be assured that food safety is a priority of the government. The facilities planned at Mapusa must be fast-tracked," Martins said.
He said the State Level Advisory Committee (SLAC) under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, had endorsed this facility in Mapusa in February. The Agriculture Department was requested to follow it up, he added.
Martins also underscored the need for greater awareness among consumers about the harmful effects of the illegal use of chemicals to force-ripen fruits. He said the organisation he runs”GOACAN”will include this issue in its awareness campaigns, which will be launched on June 7, which is World Food Safety Day.
Martins, who also mentors village-based consumer forums across the State, said these groups will be activated to raise awareness about health hazards involved in consuming artificially ripened fruits.
