COIMBATORE: Officials of the Food Safety Department seized 1.5 tonnes of artificially-ripened mangoes from two shops in the city on Tuesday.
Acting on a tip-off, the officials conducted raids in two shops at Karuppa Gounder Street.
“We seized as many as 45 baskets of mangoes ripened using calcium carbide from one shop and 20 baskets from the other. The mangoes were the destroyed in the compost yard owned by the Coimbatore Corporation at Vellalore,” said R Kathiravan, designated officer of Food Safety Wing (Coimbatore).
The officer added that no action has been initiated against the traders.
Calcium carbide is carcinogenic and is banned under section 44A of the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act. Artificially-ripened mangoes can easily be identified as they may not have uniformity in colour.
The easier way to identify artificially-ripened mangoes is that they will have yellow or green patches on it and the inner pulp may not be ripened.
Consumption of artificially-ripened mangoes affect neurological system and also leads to other health complications.