Summons NAFDAC
Offenders risk jail term
By James Adamu
The Senate is pushing to criminalise artificial ripening of fruits with aid of chemicals, a practice common among traders and fruit sellers in the country.
Those engaged in the practice risk a jail term, according to a motion senators passed in Abuja on Wednesday.
A bill on the matter is being expected to amend existing laws to make it punishable for fruit sellers to ripen fruits using “dangerous chemicals.”
At the session, which was presided over by the Senate President, Sen. Godswill Akpabio, the lawmakers summoned the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to brief the Joint Committee on Health and Agriculture “on what they are doing to prevent this harmful practice.”
The Senate’s action followed a motion on “Urgent Need to Investigate with an Intention to Halt the Continuous Unwholesome Practices of Chemical Ripening of Fruits Among Fruit Sellers in Nigeria.”
Prof. Ani Anthony (Ebonyi-South), who moved the motion, said artificial ripening of fruits involved external application of chemicals and other agents like Calcium Carbide to achieve faster and more uniform ripening of fruits.
However, he noted that this had been established to be harmful to humans after consuming such fruits, resulting in serious health risks, including renal and heart failures.
“In many developing countries, low-cost chemicals such as calcium carbide, ethylene glycol, and ethephon are reported to be commonly used to artificially trigger the ripening processes of fruits”, Anthony stated.
He further explained that the “cosmetic quality of artificially ripened fruits will increase but organoleptic qualities (taste, colour and smell), nutrition value and shelf life are depreciated when fruits are subjected to treatment without considering maturity status.”
The lawmaker warned of the severe consequences, saying, “Calcium carbide contains impurities such as arsenic, lead particles, phosphorus, etc., that cause several health hazards such as cancer, heart, kidney and liver failure, neurological disorders, intestinal problems, skin damage, mouth ulcers, etc.”
He further said, “The Senate is saddened that the practice of ripening of fruits with dangerous chemicals have been on the increase among fruit sellers in Nigeria.
“Also saddened that many of these fruit sellers are ignorant of the health hazards posed by the consumption of artificially ripened fruit but driven by the incremental profit made as most customers prefer to patronise. the artificially-ripened fruits due to its enhanced cosmetic appearance not knowing that they are buying poison.”
As a result of the harmful consequences, Sen. Anthony informed his colleagues that the use of such chemicals for fruit ripening had been banned in many countries.
Findings indicate that many deaths in Nigeria have been partly linked to the consumption of fruits ripened with chemicals, especially calcium carbide.
The chemical, when it reacts with moisture, produces acetylene gas that artificially ripened fruits but introduces toxic substances into them.
Research shows that these toxins can cause symptoms like gastrointestinal distress, eye irritation, skin ulcers, emotional disturbances, and in severe cases, fatal organ damage leading to untimely deaths.
In spite of frequent warnings from NAFDAC and calls for public awareness and legal action, the use of calcium carbide in fruit ripening remains widespread in Nigerian markets, often without consumers’ knowledge.
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