Food regulator FSSAI has requested merchants and food enterprise operators not to use the banned product ‘calcium carbide’ for ripening of fruits.
In an official assertion, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) stated it has “alerted traders’/fruits handlers/Food Business Operators (FBOs) operating ripening chambers to strictly ensure compliance with the prohibition on calcium carbide for artificial ripening of fruits, particularly during the mango season”.
FSSAI has additionally suggested Food Safety Departments of states/UTs to stay vigilant and take severe motion and deal stringently towards particular person(s) indulging in such illegal practices as per the provisions of the FSS Act, 2006, and guidelines/rules made thereunder.
“Calcium carbide, commonly used for ripening fruits like mangoes, releases acetylene gas, which contains harmful traces of arsenic and phosphorus.”
“These substances, also known as ‘Masala’, can cause serious health issues such as dizziness, frequent thirst, irritation, weakness, difficulty in swallowing, vomiting and skin ulcers, etc,” FSSAI stated.
Additionally, acetylene fuel is equally hazardous to these dealing with it.
“There are chances that calcium carbide may come in direct contact with fruits during application and leave residues of arsenic and phosphorus on fruits,” the regulator stated.
Due to these risks, the use of calcium carbide for ripening fruits has been banned underneath the Regulation of the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Regulations, 2011.
This regulation explicitly states, “No person shall sell or offer or expose for sale or have in his premises for the purpose of sale under any description, fruits which have been artificially ripened by use of acetylene gas, commonly known as carbide gas”.
Considering the problem of rampant use of banned calcium carbide, FSSAI has permitted the use of ethylene fuel as a safer various for fruit ripening in India.
Ethylene fuel can be utilized at concentrations up to 100 ppm, relying upon the crop, selection and maturity.
Ethylene, a naturally occurring hormone in fruits, regulates the ripening course of by initiating and controlling a sequence of chemical and biochemical actions.
The therapy of unripe fruits with ethylene fuel triggers the pure ripening course of till the fruit itself begins producing ethylene in substantial portions.
Further, the Central Insecticides Board and Registration Committee (CIB & RC) have accepted Ethephon 39 per cent SL for the uniform ripening of mangoes and different fruits.
