With Karaikal Mangani Thiruvizha around the corner, activists express concern over quality of fruits

Use of ripening agents such as calcium carbide and ethephon could cause serious health issues, officials said.
A file picture of people carrying mangoes during Mangani Thiruvizha | Express
A file picture of people carrying mangoes during Mangani Thiruvizha | Express

KARAIKAL: The much-awaited Karaikal Mangani Thiruvizha is only three weeks away, and the inflow of mangoes is expected to increase exponentially in the district However, owing to the recent outbreak of diarrhoea - with many of patients admitted to hospitals claiming to have consumed fruits over the past one week - activists have urged for extra-caution and thorough inspection of fruits. “Chances of people adding artificial ripening agents to fruits is high,” an activist said.

According to sources, traders and distributors bring in over 90% of the required mangoes from other districts in several lakh tonnes. They would then direct the fruits to retail shops and vendors. However, it is uncertain whether the fruits will be inspected in the coming weeks, sources said. With over 200 people falling ill in the district over the past one week, the onus of ensuring the quality of fruits is firmly on the Food Safety Department.

“The department should begin inspection, start testing their quality and ensure safety to avoid a major health issue during the festival season, “ A Prabhakar, a social activist from Karaikal, said.

The Health Department had earlier cited several reasons for the health issues, including unclean-eating habits, pollution and consumption of spoilt and stale food items. They said artificially-ripened fruits might also lead to stomach-upsets and diarrhoea. Use of ripening agents such as calcium carbide and ethephon could cause serious health issues, officials said.

As of now, the district does not have a food safety unit to monitor the fruit inflow on a daily or weekly basis, sources said. Officials from Puducherry visit the district a few times a year for insection, they added. M Ravichandran, Food Safety Officer in Puducherry, said, “We will be carrying out extensive inspections in Karaikal. We will try our best to inspect by end of June itself.”

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