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| Ethenyl to replace carbide gas for ripening fruits |
| Press Trust of India / New Delhi Aug 17, 2010, 17:34 IST |
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Keeping in view the health hazards of using calcium carbide for ripening fruits, the government is working to substitute it with a more protective ethenyl.
A committee formed under the National Horticulture Board is preparing standards for ethenyl usage for ripening fruits, head of Fruit and Vegetable wing of Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) A K Singh told PTI.
The committee is working on subjects like quantity of ethenyl to be used for ripening fruits of different types, level of temperature and related matter, he said.
Singh, who is a member of the committee, said the standards for ethenyl usage would be given a final shape soon.
A meeting of the team was held here last week, he said, adding that experts have pointed out that arsenic and phosphorous are found in calcium carbide. It forms acetylene gas (more popularly known as carbide gas) after reacting with the moisture in atmosphere.
This gas works as ethenyl for ripening fruits.
As per section 44 AA of Prevention of Fruits Adulteration Act, 1955, use of acetylene gas for ripening fruits is prohibited. But due to lacunae in execution of the laws and lack of substitute, it is being used rampantly, he said.
Singh said studies have pointed out that use of calcium carbide for ripening fruits like bananas and mangoes have had harmful effects on brain, lungs and other vital organs.
On the other hand, fruits ripened with the help of ethneyl had no harmful effect on the health.
He said traders in Maharashtra are successfully using ethenyl, which is expected to be extended to other parts of the country.
All India Fruits Growers and Exporters Association President Babu Ramchandani told PTI over the phone from Mumbai that ethenyl is successfully used for ripening fruits.
Temperature controlled chambers or rooms are constructed for ripening fruits using ethenyl. Horticulture board gives subsidy for construction of such chambers or rooms.
It might be recalled that Union Minister of State of Health Dinesh Trivedi in a letter to the Health Secretary had recently raised the issue of use of harmful chemicals and harmones in fruits and vegetables, which have adverse impact on the health.
About 60.7 million tonnes of fruits are produced in the country annually. 43 per cent of mangoes of the world are produced in India, which is also a leading producer of banana.
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