Authorities issue warnings against unethical ways of ripening mangoes.
The chemicals added to mangoes can lead to serious health problems, including cancer.
As the summer season has started, mangoes can be seen everywhere in the markets. Sometimes these mangoes turn out to be tasty, but there are times when they are just tasteless. While the demand for mangoes increases, sellers, business operators, and vendors leave no stone unturned to earn profit during this time. It has been found that these sellers use dangerous chemicals in the ripening of mangoes, which poses a serious threat to the public’s health.
Due to rising health concerns, the authorities have issued warnings to sellers and business operators against using illegal and unethical processes for ripening mangoes. These incidents also highlight the importance of increasing consumer awareness because many customers are unable to distinguish between fake and real fruits. Furthermore, the chemicals that are added are hazardous and can cause a variety of health problems, including cancer.
Here are four ways to identify chemically ripened mangoes: –
Checking the size of mangoes: Mangoes that have added toxic chemicals in them are smaller in size as compared to naturally ripened mangoes. These chemically intoxicated mangoes always have juice dripping from them.
Testing them in water: By putting mangoes in a bucket full of water, it can be identified whether they are chemically ripened or not. It has been found that chemically ripened mangoes will float on top when put in water, while naturally ripened mangoes will sink.
Checking the colour: Chemically ripened mangoes may have a surface that is a mix of yellow and green colour, with the green standing out from the yellow in some areas. On the other hand, organically ripened mangoes will be a continuous combination of green and yellow.
On cutting: On cutting the mangoes, if the juice is dripping from them, then it is a chemically ripened mango. It is also found that if someone consumes an artificially ripened mango, their taste buds will experience a slight burning sensation. People also experience stomach aches, diarrhoea, and throat burning on occasion.
