Real deal about 'fake' mangoes

Despite a ban in place, calcium carbide is widely used for the artificial ripening of fruits, posing many health risks to consumers. Here's how to spot the adulteration and be safe this mango season

- REWATI KARAN

If you love your mangoes, this is surely the best time of the year for you. Whether it's Alphonso, Banganapalli, Raspuri, Kesar - or Langra, Chausa and Dussehri that become available a month later, depending upon where you are, as the monsoon progresses into the northern parts of the country - the king of fruits is now making its appearance in all its splendour. However, there can be a bummer in our moment of joys, a bitter truth of sorts lurking behind the sweet aroma of this beloved fruit. Enter 'fake mangoes', or artificially-ripened mangoes using harmful chemicals.

Sounds worrying, doesn't it? Well, it does. Even though mangoes are naturally sweet, they are sometimes artificially ripened using calcium carbide, a chemical that can cause serious health problems.

Last year, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) issued a strict notice to all those who engage in the artificial ripening of fruits using calcium carbide. It imposed the ban due to the health concerns associated with the use of this chemical under Regulation 2.3.5 of the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Regulations, 2011, which 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."

Calcium carbide (CaC2) is a chemical compound that acts as a catalyst in accelerating the ripening process by initiating and controlling a series of chemical and biochemical activities. However, research has revealed that the use of calcium carbide can cause serious health problems, including dizziness, frequent thirst, irritation, weakness, difficulty in swallowing, vomiting, and skin ulcers.