calcium carbide

They conducted on spot tests to check the presence of Calcium Carbide in fruits and discarded ton of mangoes and peaches which resulted positive.

The use of ethylene for this purpose was not harmful for human consumption but these compounds were expensive while Calcium Carbide in the country was available on cheap rates.

The use of calcium carbide as a ripening agent has been banned worldwide, due to its adverse effects.

'But when you ripen fruits artificially with calcium carbide, one cannot control that high amount of acetylene that goes into the fruit.

"Import of Petcoke is allowed for only cement, lime kiln, calcium carbide and gasification industries, when used as the feedstock or in the manufacturing process on actual user condition," the directorate general of foreign trade said.

They wash unripe mangoes, pack them in wooden boxes and place sachets of calcium carbide in them, which ripens the mangoes within four to five days,' says a commission agent.

Hoarders are known for storing unripe fruits, coating them with calcium carbide and then selling them later at higher prices especially during the Islamic fasting month of Ramazan, when prices of fruits and vegetables are skyrocketing due to higher demand.

Use of calcium carbide is very cheap and is embedded in the whole system so that it will take long time to replace it with ethylene or any other ripening agent.

In the present work, the industrial wastes including iron tailing sands and calcium carbide slag are adopted to treat the expansive soils.

Dishonest traders endanger food items by using calcium carbide, toxic textile dyes, urea, melamine, DDT and burnt engine oil.

The sources said the government has got established 34 ripening chambers for ripening of mango and banned use of Calcium Carbide as mango-ripener being detrimental to health.