Ahead of mango season, food safety officials conduct raid, seize 4 tonnes of artificially ripened fruits
According to sources, the officials conducted tests for checking if fruits are ripened chemically.
Food Safety Department seized artificially ripened mangoes and bananas, imposing fines on violators (Photo: Hemanathan M)
CHENNAI: The food safety department has seized a total of four tonnes of artificially ripened mangoes and four tonnes of artificially ripened bananas at the Koyambedu market on Tuesday. As the mango season has begun, the use of artificial ripening agents becomes very common in the fruit markets to enhance sales.
The food safety department is undertaking inspections and conducting raids in these markets to seize artificially ripened fruits.
The fruits ripened using chemicals such as calcium carbide, arsenic and phosphorus can lead to various health issues, such as skin problems, respiratory illnesses and some of these chemicals can be carcinogenic.
Designated food safety officer Dr P Satheesh Kumar said that the department will take action on the vendors selling artificially ripened fruits. He said that public should be very careful while buying these fruits.
"Colour can be a sign of identification of actually ripened fruits and the ones that are ripening artificially. The consistency of yellow colour is equal throughout the fruit in properly ripened fruits but it will be uneven if chemicals are used. The natural smell of ripe fruits is absent in the ones that are ripened artificially."
The officials say that people can also check the fruits by cutting them as properly ripe mangoes would cut easily, similar to slicing cheese but in case of artificially ripened mangoes, the rawness of the fruit can be felt and it will not be easy to cut.
Dr Satheesh said that the taste also differs because the natural sweetness of the mangoes is absent in the artificially ripened mangoes. He added that the artificially ripened mangoes will also have dark patches on them and public should refrain from buying those, even if sold at cheaper costs. One can also identify that if the mangoes floats in a bucket of water, it is artificially ripened, because usually the mangoes will sink at the bottom of a bucket," he added.
