Bengaluru/Panaji: A man, hailing from Karnataka was detained by the Canacona police, on Saturday for allegedly selling mangoes, ripened artificially by using calcium carbide powder.
A local who spotted the mango vendor applying powder on the mangoes notified the police who rushed to the spot to inspect the complaint. The police detained the vendor and seized the powder found in his possession. The Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) which was called to verify the substance confirmed that it was calcium carbide, the use of which has been prohibited for health reasons. Four crates of mangoes in the vendor’s possession were destroyed after samples taken from the stock confirmed the presence of calcium carbide powder.
The FDA team also inspected samples of mangoes from Chaudi market to check for any other cases of artificial ripening.
