Are you eating vegetable and fruits with carcinogenics (cancer causing chemicals)?
In a recent raid at Sector 26 the fruit and vegetable market in Sector 26, administration’s Health and Police team found rampant use of calcium carbide, a dangerous carcinogenic for artificial ripening of fruits. The team also found Chinese packets of the ethylene, which were used for the ripening of the mangoes.
During the surprise check, several vendors were caught using the banned chemical. Payayas were ripened in trucks behind the shops.
Samples have been sent to laboratory to check whether chemicals are used beyond permissible limit. Fruits were seized and approximately, five quintals of the papaya, ripened by calcium carbide, was destroyed by the team.
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About calcium carbide
- The chemical calcium carbide is a hazardous chemical that can cause cancer.
- It has been under the Food Safety and Standards Regulation.
- The chemical is used to generate low levels of ethylene gas. The gas in turn can hasten the ripening of fruits like bananas, mangoes and papaya.
- Eating artificially ripened fruits causes stomach upset because the alkaline substance is an irritant that erodes the mucosal tissue in the stomach and disrupts intestinal function.
Consumers are advised to observe the following when buying fruits;
- Do not always be all about choosing fruits that are attractive on the outside as they may not be good for health. Fruits that have a‘handsomely’ uniform colour, for example, a bunch of bananas having a uniform colour, are more likely to have been artificially ripened.
- Wash all fruits thoroughly before consuming. Keep them under running water for a few minutes, so that the harmful agro-chemicals are washed away.
- Do not buy fruits sold during their off season, as they are more likely to be artificially ripened.
Courtesy: Nutrition Talk Blogspot
Source: The Tribune
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Don't Eat Litchis Empty Stomach and Go To Sleep. It Is LETHAL
