By Mutolib Jubril
In the bustling markets of Nigeria, the sight of vibrant fruits can be enchanting, but behind this facade lies a growing concern— the rampant use of artificial ripening agents.
This prevalent use of chemicals like calcium carbide has surged significantly due to market demands and profit motives. Fruit vendors often rely on calcium carbide to hasten the ripening of fruits such as bananas, mangoes, and plantains.
However, the practice poses serious health hazards, including the potential to cause cancer, as well as respiratory and digestive issues.
Calcium carbide’s popularity among fruit vendors is due to its rapid ripening effects on bananas, mangoes, and plantains. However, its usage is shadowed by grave health risks, including carcinogenic properties and respiratory ailments.
When News Digest visited a mango vendor in Gawo Nama market, Sokoto State, he shared insights anonymously—revealing continued use of carbide during the harmattan season.
According to him, he described the process of enclosing unripe mangoes in a container with carbide for swift ripening, highlighting its one-day transformation for urgent sales.
“I normally buy green unripe mango from the market and put it inside a special leather in a box and store it for four to five days for it to ripen.
“Sometimes if we need ripe plantain urgently, we apply carbide and it takes only one day for it to be ripened and ready to be sold out.”
Healthnews, in a report published in April 2018, the Nigerian lawmakers urged the Executive to check the sale and consumption of artificially-ripened fruits in the country and prosecute those involved. They also called the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and the National Orientation Agency (NOA) to immediately carry out massive enlightenment to sensitize the public.
Moving a motion, Edward Pwajork mentioned cases of ripening of fruit ripening with calcium carbide in Nigeria. He stated that fruit dealers, driven by the desire for excessive profit and to meet the high national demand for fruits like mangoes, bananas, plantains, and oranges, resort to using calcium carbide as a ripening agent.
“These acts are reported to cause serious health problems because of their radioactive elements that cause cancer.
“The application of the noxious chemicals is done by farmers and/or sellers without the knowledge of innocent buyers and consumers who take fruits because of its nutritional value,” he said.
Expert Insight
Dr. Grace Olasumbo, a nutritionist, cautioned Nigerians to exercise caution when consuming fruits and vegetables that exhibit uneven coloring, particularly those displaying patches of yellow and green.
Olasumbo issued this warning during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja, emphasizing the Federal Government’s concerns regarding the hazards associated with the use of carbide and other chemicals to artificially ripen produce.
She expressed that fruits and vegetables showing such irregularities in color are likely to have undergone artificial ripening, a practice often observed at the onset of a fruit season.
Her words: “This is the same chemical that is used to manufacture fire-crackers; they are also used as pesticides. When an individual takes in such poisonous substances, the chemical components would cause a fatal reaction which could affect the liver, kidney and throat.
“Intake of Calcium Carbide has also been found to be the leading cause of various health conditions such as diarrhoea, severe gastrointestinal upset, eye problems, ulcers and emotional trauma.
“Others are restlessness, seizures, tremors, irritation of the skin, mouth, throat, liver and cancer.The texture will also be hard even when it appears yellow.
The fruits will also be low on flavour, less juicy and often will not be as sweet as they should.”
NAFDAC Warns
THE National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, has warned members of the public against consumption of fruits artificially ripened with calcium carbide.
According to NAFDAC, the consumption of fruits such as mango, banana, plantain, guava, orange, grape, etc or any other fruits ripened with calcium carbide is dangerous to health.
“ These fruits do not possess uniform colour and are less juicy than when ripened naturally and have comparatively shorter shelf life. Calcium Carbide when sprayed with water reacts chemically to produce acetylene, which acts like ethylene and ripens fruits by a similar process.
”Calcium carbide generally contains impurities such as arsenic, lead particles, phosphorus, etc. that pose several very serious health hazards,” the agency stated.
“Consumption of fruits containing these impurities may cause cancer, heart, kidney and liver failure. They may also cause frequent thirst, irritation in mouth and nose, weakness, permanent skin damage, difficulty in swallowing, vomiting, skin ulcer and so forth. Higher exposure may cause undesired fluid build-up in lungs (pulmonary oedema).”