The West Zone Task Force of the Hyderabad police searched two fruit warehouses in Borabanda and seized about 4,800 kg mangoes artificially ripened with ethylene.
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In the first case, Mohd. Moiz (40), manager of a fruit warehouse at HF Nagar in Borabanda, was arrested. The officials seized 160 trays of artificially ripened mangoes, with each tray containing 20 kg of the fruit, and a number of ethylene packets.
In the second case, Mohd. Sadiq (47), a fruit businessman from Sanjay Nagar of Borabanda, was arrested and 80 trays of mangoes, along with sachets of the ripening agent, were seized.
“They used to supply the fruits to different fruit shops and juice centres in Hyderabad. Owing to a high demand for fruit, they are using artificial ripening agents such as ethylene to push the fruits into the market by breaching the FSSAI guidelines and using the ripening material by placing them directly on the mangoes,” said the officials.
They further said that when used in excessive quantities, these chemicals can cause severe health problems such as skin burns, skin irritation, inflammation and lung irritation. When inhaled, the arsenic in such mangoes will cause heavy metal poisoning and other neurological issues.