Feeling dizzy, nauseous? It could be the mangoes

This summer mango has a new flavour that of cancercausing calcium carbide with dashes of phosphorous and arsenic Caught in the aftermath of an extended winter and predictions of premonsoon showers worried mango growers and traders have been making excessive use of the banned chemical compound to ripen the fruit mdash especially Alphonso mdash and sell it off in the market But the substance which has carcinogenic properties and contains arsenic and phosphorus may lead to serious health problems particularly neurological experts warned Ripe before their time Mangoes ripened with calcium carbide which contains arsenic and phosphorous pose a threat to physical and neurological health experts say Erratic winter Farmers and traders at the Agriculture Produce Market Committee APMC claimed that changes in climate this year have disturbed the life cycle of mango trees affecting the fruitrsquos natural ripening process and thereby quality As such they have been using calcium carbide to ripen the fruit fearing mangoes may get spoilt if allowed to mature naturally ldquoMango trees did not get the required heat to grow as winter lasted until March this year This has disturbed the life cycle of the trees and the fruits are not being ripened properly Moreover mango growers in the Konkan used Cultar paclobutrazol in excessive quantities to catalyse flowering after a prolonged winter spoiled that as well And that has also weakened the trees So we are forced to use calcium carbide in some cases more than usualrdquo said a mango grower from Devgad who wished not to be named A few sachets of calcium carbide are kept in a box of mangoes with hay for two to three days to ripen the fruits Early showers Further anticipating premonsoon showers in the next few days APMC traders are selling their stock as early as possible by ripening mangoes artificially Traders fear deterioration in quality and consequently the demand for the fruit once the showers set in over the next few days ldquoWe are doing good business for the last few days as supply of mango has increased but it will last for just a few more days as premonsoon showers are expected to come in the next few days So we are left with no option but to ripen mango using calcium carbide and sell mango as early as possible Because after premonsoon showers demand of mango goes down and so does our businessrdquo said an APMC trader requesting anonymity Toxic effects Dr Rashneh Pardiwala director at Centre for Environmental Research and Education said ldquoCalcium carbide is a carcinogenic and contains arsenic and phosphorus It is very harmful for humans and can lead to headache dizziness and nausea Eating mangos ripened with the compound can lead to serious neurological problems as wellrdquo Pardiwala recommends zero use of chemical compounds for ripening fruits ldquoIt is strongly recommended that no fruit should be processed artificially as no scientific finding has authenticated the benefits from such fruits so farrdquo she said The government banned the use of calcium carbide a few years back But it is easily available in the market Traders claimed ethylene recommended by agriculture scientists is not appropriate for ripening as it spoils the fruit ldquoWe have been recommended to use ethylene for ripening of mango but we have observed that mango fruits get spoilt after being treated with ethylene We use calcium carbide as it is effective cheap and easily availablerdquo said the APMC trader Look before you eat gtgt Wash the mangoes thoroughly before consuming Keep these under running water for a few minutes gtgt Cut the fruit into pieces rather than consuming directly gtgt Mangoes that have a uniform colour for example are more likely to have been artificially ripenedu00a0