Emergency Public market fruit vendors are using artifical ripping chemicals!

I just had a discussion with my wife about the use of CALBURO to ripen bananas and mangoes and 100% it is used on some of the fruit we buy at the market here in Dumaguete. She is a farm girl and definitely knows what she is talking about, when she is buying bananas and mangoes she can tell the difference by smelling the fruit.

 

WONDERING?? Is there a way to cook it out before eating or anything just before eating ?? Something of a neutrilizer ?? Maybe with a glass of milk ??

 

From https://www.afromum.com/detect-avoid-fruits-ripened-calcium-carbide-chemical/ I quote this part: "It seems that calcium carbide is a bigger threat to us than we may think, so how do we avoid the threat of artificially ripened fruits?

After you have purchased your fruit of choice, place it in a bucket/ body of water; if it sinks to the bottom that means it’s naturally mature and fine. However, if it floats that means it has been harvested prematurely and you should not consume it just yet. [My comment: I imagine this method detects ripeness but not HOW that ripeness occurred].

Wash fruits thoroughly before consuming. Keep under running water for a few minutes to wash the chemicals away. [My comment: Always a good idea to do this for all fruits and veg (I am sure everyone already does this) as other chemicals may have been used, such as herbicides and pesticides - and I think they may be an even greater health danger].

Artificially ripened fruit can be identified by their lack of a uniform colour. For example, artificially ripened mangoes will be green and yellow in patches around the surface. This may be because they have been treated and the chemical has not reached the entire fruit. The fruit gets the yellow colour, but since the fruit sugars remain immature, it does not taste sweet. The flesh will also not be fully ripe inside. The artificially ripened fruit will be dry and less juicy as compared to a naturally ripened one. They will also not have the sweet aroma that comes with a natural fruit." [My comment: I saw on the youtube video posted within this thread that bananas which are artificially ripened may look okay but are hard inside. The solution may be to observe the skin as stated above, smell for sweetness, possibly have a quick squeeze to check for hardness (or get the wife/partner/gf to do this as they may have more experience!) and, having rejected any which seem unsuitable, perhaps to buy one fruit first and open it up to check. A bit bothersome, I know, but anyone particularly worried about this artificial ripening process may be willing to accept the hassle.]

My comments now and not quotes from the website: In terms of the artificial ripening process, it seems the calcium carbide used may be the issue and not the acetylene gas it produces (which is the actual agent which facilitates ripening). Of course, when eating bananas (see my pic here and you will realise I eat lots) we usually do not eat the skin and I suspect it is the acetylene (a gas), rather than the calcium carbide (a solid), which crosses the banana's skin barrier. This would be more of an issue with mangoes, which have a much thinner skin than bananas. Washing will, of course, help here but perhaps most of us eat relatively small amounts per annum and, like most foodstuffs, just have to relax about it and accept that we already eat processed foods full of chemicals (and we have no idea what effect the huge combinations of those chemicals from different foodstuffs are having on our bodies).

So relax, do what you can, keep eating and accept life has risks. Maybe even set up your own veg/fruit garden.

 

HMM WONDER IF YOU BUY THE GREEN BANANNAS FIRST AND LET THEM RIPEN FOR THEMSELVES THEN NO CHEMICALS ???????

 

True, but not sure if they are always available. And if you have any ripe bananas (even if 'gone-off') then put them under the green ones and they will help ripen them.

 

I asked my wife about this tonight and it is used in various markets, apparently well known for many fruits and veggies. Illegal but very common; something I did not know before the OP but the wife knows about this practice and the stalls she stays away from (this info is from Tanjay, not Dumaguete).

Shawn