Artificially ripened mangoes, papayas seized in Guwahati

GUWAHATI: The food and safety department of Kamrup (Metro) district, in a surprise raid on Friday, seized huge quantity of artificially ripened mangoes and papayas in Fancy Bazaar and arrested two fruit vendors.
The officials of the food and safety department conducted inspections from 5 am and destroyed around 15.5 quintals of mangoes and 3 quintals of papayas.
According to a senior official, the team first found 12.5 quintals of mangoes ripened using calcium carbide from a shop owned by Sambu and Sohan Shah in the fruit market. "In every cartoon box of mango, we found packets of calcium carbide. We seized and threw them in the garbage dump," said an official.
In another raid on a godown rented by Bimal Das, the officials caught people packing raw mangoes in a cartoon along with packets of calcium carbide. "We have seized 6 quintals of mangoes which they were packing in a box along with calcium carbide," he said. However, more interestingly, the officials also found 3 quintals of papayas being artificially ripened using the hazardous chemical. "We also seized papayas ripened using calcium carbide which customer thinks is healthy," he added.
"Calcium carbide helps a raw fruit to get ripened in 24 hours. Consumption of these chemically treated fruits can affect the liver and stomach. It is very hazardous," said an official of the food and safety department.
According to regulation 2.3.5 of Food Safety and Standard (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Regulations, 2011, "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."