The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has banned calcium carbide under the Prevention of Food Adulteration (PFA) Act, 1954. Anyone using it can be imprisoned for three years along with a fine of Rs 1,000. However, no effective action plan has been devised to implement it.

ethylene gas
When calcium carbide comes in contact with mangoes, it reacts to the moisture in mangoes, which respond and produce acetylene gas, its effects are something very similar to natural ethylene gas, which is naturally used by the mangoes for ripening.

Apples, pears, bananas, mangoes, plums, nectarines, honeydew melons and other fruits all release high amounts of ethylene, as reported by the Produce for Better Health Foundation.

Ethylene is an important plant hormone. In bananas and many other fruits, production of ethylene surges when the fruit is ready to ripen. This surge triggers the transformation of a hard, green, dull fruit into a tender, gaudy, sweet thing that’s ready-to-eat.

Ethylene. It has been well demonstrated that a 24-hour treatment with ethylene will trigger mango ripening. Controlled exposure to ethylene at the optimum temperature of 18-22 °C will enhance the appearance of the fruit in the carton by synchronising softening and skin colour.

Consumption of carbide ripened fruits is extremely hazardous for health, mainly for the nervous system. Acetylene, generated from carbide reduces oxygen supply to the brain. In acute stage, it causes headache, vertigo, dizziness, delirium, seizure and even coma.

Ethylene producing foods Almost every other fruit produces ethylene gas. This is the gas that’s responsible for the ripening of every fruit. Some fruits produce very little amounts while others high amounts of ethylene. This is why some fruits will be slow at ripening while others ripen fast.

Fruit that continues to ripen.. Bananas, apples, kiwi fruit, figs, pears, mangoes, peaches, plums, tomatoes, avocadoes and some other fruits respond to ethylene in their environment and begin the ripening process.

Ethylene is a natural, safe and necessary phytohormone for ripening. When fruits are artificially ripened, they are assisted by the usage of ethylene gas. It can be done safely by avoiding contact of the ethylene-releasing substance with the fruit.

Ethylene (also called Ethene; C2H4), the simplest Alkene, is an organic compound containing a C=C double bond. Ethylene is a coplanary unsaturated hydrocarbon (also called olefin) which is the most produced for industrial use.

Dipping mangoes in 2% sodium carbonate solution for 12 hr can be used to remove arsenic residues from the calcium carbide ripened mangoes prior to their consumption.

Ripening fruit gives off ethylene gas, and putting the fruit in a paper bag traps the gas near the fruit, causing it to ripen faster. Place bananas in a brown paper bag and close loosely. Ethylene will build up and circulate within the bag, speeding up the ripening process.

Once the fruit pulp temperature stabilizes, apply 100 ppm ethylene for a minimum of 12 hours. Actual time of exposure to ethylene is determined by the maturity of the fruit; a slight change in fruit color indicates that the mangoes are producing ethylene and the external ethylene source is no longer needed.

The rise in respiration during the climacteric peak is related to fruit ripening (Brecht and Yahia, 2009). Mango fruit ripening is accompanied by increase in ethylene production, which coordinates the ripening process (Mattoo and Modi, 1969). Fruit stored in MA packaging showed reduced CO 2 production compared to the unbagged fruit.

Mangos produce ethylene, a naturally occurring ripening hormone. A mature piece of fruit will respond to the ethylene, and will ripen normally on its own. A ripening program, as discussed later in this document, may be used to move the mangos toward the ripe/ready to eat stage prior to store-level distribution.

Maturity at harvest is a critical factor for mango flavor at consumption. A mango harvested immature will not ripen normally to satisfy consumers.