Chennai: November 13: Food safety officials seized more than 10 tonnes of bananas ripened using ethylene solutions, from six shops at the Koyambedu wholesale fruit market in Chennai in the early hours. Food safety officials said vendors were diluting ethylene with water. The solution was then sprayed over the fruit and kept inside airtight rooms to speed up the ripening process. Designated food safety official A Ramakrishnan said several boxes of chemical packed in 100ml bottles were seized from the shops. “The use of ethylene in gas form is allowed. But direct contact with the fruit leads to harmful chemical contamination,” he said. The seized fruit would be destroyed in the biomechanisation plant at Koyambedu. Nearly 40 vehicles, each carrying around eight tonnes of raw bananas, come into the market every day, according to S Srinivasan, president of Chennai Fruits Commission Agents Association. “Raw bananas are transported to prevent damage during transport,” he said. (GNS)
