Unsafe to eat: How banned toxic ripening makes fruits hazardous
Behind the sweetness of fruits lies the bitter truth of rampant chemical ripening practices. Will the FSSAI directive help?
Updated At : 03:03 PM Jun 01, 2025 IST
Flouting norms, the banned calcium carbide continues to be used to ripen fruit. Tribune photo: Himanshu Mahajan
"Aap aam kaise pakate hain?” (How do you ripen your mangoes), I ask Sudeep Kumar from Uttar Pradesh, who has been selling fruits in Chandigarh and Mohali for the past seven-eight years. “Masala se,” comes the matter-of-fact reply. When asked how he manages to use the banned masala to ripen mangoes, he shrugs: “Market mein 75 per cent aam to issi se pakate hain. Yeh safe hai.” (Nearly 75 per cent of mangoes in the market are ripened with this. It’s safe.)
