A plea was filed in the Delhi High Court seeking immediate ban on sale of fruits and vegetables, which contain artificial colour and harmful preservatives. A division bench of Chief Justice G. Rohini and Justice R.S. Endlaw, agreeing to hear the PIL, posted the plea for May 21 and clubbed it with another petition that relates to pesticides in fruits and vegetables.
The PIL filed by advocate Sugriv Dubey alleged that fruits and vegetables sold in Delhi are ‘quoted with carbohydrate and other cancerous chemicals to increase their life span’. The plea said that the authorities have not taken any step to insure the quality of food being sold in markets here are safe for consumption. ‘Not a single sample of mango sold during the entire season has been taken into custody by the authorities to ensure that those coated with carbohydrates are not sold in the market,’ it stated. The pulses sold here are polished with chemical to bring them in a very shining condition which are injurious to health when consumed, it added.
Why artificial ripened mangoes are bad for you
Recently there was news that this season’s mangoes might cause cancer. The news was based on the fact that mangoes were being artificially ripened using a chemical called calcium carbide that is a known carcinogen (cancer causing substance). So to help you get some clarity on the situation, here are all your questions about artificially ripened mangoes answered.
Why do mangoes need to be artificially ripened?
All fruits ripen based on a well-tuned chemical system. The main chemical in ripening being ethylene. But farmers and fruit vendors, normally have to transport and store these fruits for a period of time before they get sold. So, to help keep these fruits ripe enough to sell and not allow them to rot, farmers pluck them when they are still raw.
In some cases these mangoes need to be ripened so that there is more to sell. And since we buy based on how attractive a fruit looks, they resort to artificial ripening methods.
How can one distinguish between artificially ripened mangoes and organically grown ones?
According to Nandita Shah, founder of SHARAN India (an organisation committed to prevention and reversal of diseases through nutrition), ‘Organic mangoes are sold in organic shops or through people who specify that there mangoes are organic. But even so there is a need to be able to tell the difference between an artificially ripened mango and natural one.’ She says, ‘Taste is the easiest way. Read more about how to identify artificially ripened mangoes…
Source: http://www.thehealthsite.com
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