State’s first fruit ripening unit planned at Mapusa

Panaji: With unscrupulous fruit vendors using hazardous chemicals to hasten the ripening process, the Goa Agricultural Produce and Livestock Marketing Board (GAPLMB) has decided to create the state’s first fruit ripening chamber at its Mapusa market yard.

The sensor-driven, temperature-controlled chamber was slated to be completed within 60 days and will most likely be used for bananas and mangoes. However, sources said it will not be ready in time for the current season.

“Large quantities of fruits are ripened using calcium carbide, which emits harmful substances like phosphor and arsenic, leading to health hazards,” an official said. “There is an immense need for the establishment of ripening facilities in Goa owing to the large production and arrivals of bananas and mangoes in the market yards of the state.”

The use of carbide is strictly banned, with only ethylene injection permitted as a natural hormone for the ripening of fruits under controlled temperature and humidity conditions.

Over the past two weeks, the FDA officials seized and destroyed tonnes of artificially ripened fruits. To weed out such practices, the GAPLMB wants to build four chambers that can take in 10-15 tonnes each of fruits for ripening.