Mangoes with a dash of poison

Mumbai: Love the look of the tempting red-yellow mangoes at your local fruit vendor’s shop? Stop, before you reach for them. Dangerous chemicals could be the secret behind their good looks. These chemicals are not just carcinogenic and cause serious physiological problems, they are also banned by the Indian government.On Tuesday, inspectors of the Maharashtra Food and Drugs Administration (FDA), raided two mango vendors at Ghatkopar and seized a huge amount of such artificially ripened mangos. The cost of these mangoes is more than Rs2.5 lakh.

According to joint FDA commissioner, Suhas Chaudhari, food inspectors LJ Rathod and Kranti Bhunje received specific information about certain vendors in Ghatkopar (east) artificially ripening mangoes.

“When officials raided the vendors, they found dozens and dozens of mangoes packed into boxes containing the dangerous calcium carbide powder. The first vendor had 348 dozen Alphonso mangoes costing Rs1.91 lakh. When officials conducted raids at the other vendors’ shops, 130 dozen mangoes costing Rs70,500 were seized,” Chaudhari said.

The vendors - Rajesh Kumar Vijayshankar Patel and Sampat Chandrawalli Patel - were selling mangoes near Satyam Shopping Centre, in Ghatkopar. “While the quantity of calcium carbide with Rajesh Kumar was not known as he had put it in the mango boxes, three kg calcium carbide was recovered from Sampat,” Chaudhari added.