Srinagar, May 20 (KNS): The concerns about toxic chemicals used by the traders to ripen fruits being imported to the state are only mounting with quality control laboratories across the start wanting government to wake up from the slumber and act against the guilty.
As per the reports, Jammu and Kashmir is a profitable market for the import of fruits from outside with 1200-1600 qtl of mangoes and 100-150 qtl of Papaya being imported to the state on daily basis.
However, what could endanger the lives of common people in the state are the reports of Calcium Carbide like chemicals being used for the artificial ripening of fruits like mangoes, papaya openly by food traders. It is pertinent to mention here that Calcium Carbide is carcinogenic and banned in most of the countries including India. As per the sources, those at the helm in the department of the quality control who have been designated the task to check all food items including fruit & Vegetables for any impermissible banned toxic chemical residues, are hand in glove with fruit traders who purchase raw mangoes and papaya in bulk quantity from outside the state and then are reportedly ripening these fruits using mostly calcium carbide or Chinese Masala.
As per reports, the toxic chemicals are used to ripen about 80 per cent of mangoes reaching the market, before they find their way to the retailers, and that there is hardly any monitoring by the authorities to check this practice. Ingestion of calcium carbide, a harmful chemical popularly called ‘masala’ in the market, can affect the neurological system.
Farmers there pluck it prematurely because in that condition the fruit is more resistant to damage during handling, transportation and storage.Click Here To Follow Our WhatsApp Channel
Doing it otherwise will incur huge losses for all concerned in the business. Ripe fruits are softer and, therefore, more prone to damage."
Though the use of calcium carbide in fruits is banned, the practice continues unhindered in the wholesale market.
Meanwhile, Lotika Khajuria, Food Commissioner, Jammu and Kashmir told KNS that recently no less than 30 quintiles of Papaya was destroyed by the department for there was ample proof of the fruit being ripened by using calcium carbide- a banned chemical in India. She stated further that the drive is going on in full swing and that the department always remains on tenterhooks to ensure that the fruits people consume are safe and not infected by toxic chemicals.
It is pertinent to mention here that the chemical widely used for artificially ripening fruits is calcium carbide (CaC2) which contains arsenic and phosphorus, both of which can prove fatal for human beings.
CaC2 is a known carcinogen — an agent having the ability to alter human cells into cancerous cells.
Though this chemical is banned in many countries, including India, it is being freely used across the country to ripen fruits such as mangoes, watermelons, bananas etc. just to scale up the sales. One of the main reasons to practice this process is to cut short the time taken by fruits to ripen naturally, which usually takes longer than the one which involves chemicals. (KNS)