Don’t use calcium carbide to ripen fruits, orders FSSAI

Sub: Science and tech

Sec: Health

Context:

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has reiterated the ban on using calcium carbide for fruit ripening.

Details:

The ban is enforced under the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Regulations, 2011, which prohibits selling or handling fruits ripened with acetylene gas.
FSSAI has urged state and UT Food Safety Departments to remain vigilant and take stringent action against those violating the ban.

How does Calcium carbide ripen the fruit?

In contact with moisture, CaC2 produces acetylene gas, an analog of ethylene, and mimics its functions as a natural fruit-ripening plant hormone.
Although CaC2 quickens the fruit ripening process the Skin/epicarp may change colour, but mesocarp and pericarp often remain green and raw.
It results in tasteless, unhealthy, and highly toxic fruit.
Naturally-ripened fruits are beneficial for human health and nutrition.
Harmful effects:
- Calcium carbide releases acetylene gas containing harmful arsenic and phosphorus traces, posing health risks such as dizziness, thirst, irritation, weakness, swallowing difficulty, vomiting, and skin ulcers. The gas is also hazardous to handlers.

Approved Alternatives:

Ethylene Gas: FSSAI recommends using ethylene gas as a safer alternative for ripening fruits.
- Ethylene is the first identified plant hormone regulating many processes in plant growth, development, and response to biotic and abiotic stresses.
- It is best known for its effect on fruit ripening and organ abscission, holding great commercial importance in agriculture.
- As a gaseous hormone, ethylene can diffuse across membranes and is synthesized at or near its site of action, differing from other plant hormones.
Ethylene can be used at concentrations up to 100 ppm, depending on the fruit’s crop, variety, and maturity.
Ethylene, a naturally occurring hormone in fruits, regulates the ripening process by initiating and controlling chemical and biochemical activities.
Ethephon 39% SL: Approved by the Central Insecticides Board and Registration Committee (CIB & RC) for uniform ripening of mangoes and other fruits.

About the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI):

It is an autonomous body established under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
The FSSAI was established under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, which is a consolidating statute related to food safety and regulation in India.
Vision: Build a new India by enabling citizens to have safe and nutritious food, prevent diseases, and lead a healthy and happy life.
Mission: Set globally benchmarked standards for food, encourage and ensure that food businesses adhere to these standards, adopt good manufacturing and hygiene practices, and ultimately enable citizens to access safe and right food.

Functions of FSSAI:

FSSAI is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the regulation and supervision of food safety.
It lays down standards and guidelines in relation to articles of food and provides for licensing, registration, and accreditation for food business operators.
Anyone selling or importing food in India needs a food licence issued by FSSAI.
FSSAI also directly monitors compliance of food regulations, especially in the area of food imports to India.
FSSAI officers carry out food import controls and ensure that they contain no harmful ingredients. To do this, they send selected test products from the import to accredited laboratories for inspection.
The FSSAI is also responsible for the accreditation of food testing laboratories throughout India.
The FSSAI is responsible for the Food Certification in India.
It is mandated to specify systems for enforcing its standards, for accreditation of certification systems, and for certification of food safety management systems for food businesses.

Source: TH