Fruit wholesalers and retailers have been using carbide gas to hasten the ripening process of fruits at the risk of adversely affecting consumer health Using artificial means to ripen fruits has become a common practice in the domestic food industry. Nowadays fruit wholesalers and retailers use different chemicals to ripen fruits artificially, which is very harmful for consumer health. In this context, Dr Deepa Bhajekar, managing director of MicroChem Silliker Pvt Ltd, says, “If chemicals are used for ripening fruits, some residue is bound to be present in the fruits. Therefore, proper infrastructure should be built to allow fruits to ripen naturally, which will rule out any kind of chemical usage, thereby making fruits absolutely safe for consumption.”
Carbide gas is used to ripen fruits such as mango, banana and papaya. The usage of the gas was banned by the government under Rule 44 AA of the Prevention of Food Adulteration Rules 1955. It has been noticed that the usage of calcium carbide can lead to several diseases as it contains harmful chemicals such as arsenic and phosphorus, which are also used to manufacture crude bombs. Researchers have also found that arsenic present in calcium carbide is carcinogen, which can cause food poisoning, mouth ulcer and cancer.
 The usage of artificial methods of ripening is increasing in the country due to low storage capacity. Perishable items like fruits should be stored in cold storages. However, due to inadequate cold storage chains, fruits get rotten much before they reach the market. As a result, the quality standard of fruits deteriorates, thereby affecting business at the home turf. Therefore, the government should undertake initiatives to check the usage of artificial methods of ripening fruits and set up more cold storage chains across the country to retain the natural quality of fruits for a longer period of time. While speaking to a FoodProcessing360 correspondent, Dr V Sudershan Rao, senior scientist of National Institute of Nutrition in Hyderabad, says, “The wholesalers and retailers are permitted to ripen fruits in ethylene gas chambers, which does not cause any harm on consumer health. By introducing such gas chambers in the country, the usage of carbide gas can be limited.”
Govt initiatives
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has been striving to improve the food quality standard by limiting the usage of harmful chemicals that can affect consumer health. The government has decided that those who continue using carbide gas for ripening fruits will be imprisoned for 6 years. Researches are also being undertaken to find out other means of ripening fruits that would not be harmful for consumer health.
Owing to increasing number of food adulteration cases in Kanpur, the government has proposed to set up a food testing laboratory in the city. The Indian Institute of Technology-Kanpur (IIT-K) would provide technical assistance that will help in improving the quality standard of fruits in Kanpur.
Currently, samples of food products are been tested in the State Public Analyst Laboratory in Lucknow, which conducts tests to ensure that consumers can avail high quality food products that do contain any harmful chemicals.
The government should introduce modern laboratories across the country, which are well-equipped with the latest machinery. This will ensure authenticity of food products by conducting quality tests more rapidly.
Sabrina Mitchell
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