Fruits are widely ripened with chemicals in Nigeria but the sellers do not know how dangerous this act is to human life.
In April 2018, Nigerian lawmakers urged the Executive to check the sale and consumption of artificially-ripened fruits in the country and prosecute those involved. It also urged the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and the National Orientation Agency (NOA) to immediately carry out massive enlightenment to sensitise the public.
Moving a motion Edward Pwajok mentioned cases of ripening of fruits with calcium carbide in Nigeria. According to him, in a bid to make inordinate profit and capitalise on the huge national demand for fruits, especially mango, banana, plantain and oranges, fruit dealers used a chemical – calcium carbide – to ripen fruits.
“These acts are reported to cause serious health problems because of their radioactive elements that cause cancer.
“The application of the noxious chemicals is done by farmers and/or sellers without the knowledge of innocent buyers and consumers who take fruits because of its nutritional value,” he said.
Fruit vendors in Nigeria have perfected the act of artificial fruit ripening even though the chemicals they are using are hazardous. The motivation for the practice is that the fruit vendors want to make quick profit even if it is at the expense of the health of the unsuspecting consumer.
The most commonly used ripening agent in Nigeria is calcium carbide yet science has shown that fruit ripened with carbide lack basic nutrients and pose great threats to human health by being potentially poisonous.
Abiante Awaji-Inombek a lawmaker representing Rivers state questioned why NAFDAC was paying little or no attention to food processing but was giving more time for drug matters.
“Parliament needs to re-define what NAFDAC is doing and widen its scope,” the lawmaker alleged.
Confirming the practice, Malam Muhammad Umar, Chairman of the Kano State Branch of the Nigerian Fruit Sellers Association revealed its members only use carbide and not insecticides to quicken the ripening of fruits. Umar was reacting to reports alleging that fruit sellers in the state were using insecticides like balm, insect powder killer and other related chemical substances on unripe fruits to hasten ripening within a day.
He said: “We are only using carbide in the ripening of fruits, and before we start using it we had to follow certain process which include the involvement of the Environmental and Occupational Health Unit, Kano State Ministry of Health.”
The fruit sellers referred to the report of the public analysis conducted by the state Ministry of Health on the use of carbide in ripening fruits which concluded the practice was safe.
He said that to protect the consumers, the fruit sellers ensure that they do not expose the inner portion of the product to the chemical.
“There should be no direct contact with the product and the carbide and lastly all rotten, damaged products should never be sold to consumers but should be disposed of. I assure you that we always do our best to ensure that members follow the recommendations by the state ministry of health,” he said.
The former Head of the Environmental and Occupation Unit in Kano state, Ja’afaru Gwarzo, signed the approval letter issued to the association, allowing them to practice artificial fruit ripening.
Gwarzo, who is also a Special Assistant to the state governor on ‘Sanitation Vanguard’, said that “after a thorough investigation on the safety of the carbide in ripening the fruits by an analysis in 2004, we were satisfied with the method but with certain conditions.”
NAFDAC disagrees
In July 2018, NAFDAC announced that carbide-ripened fruits can kill. In a statement, the agency’s Director-General, Prof. Moji Adeyeye, said the consumption of such foods could lead to several diseases, including cancer, and death.
According to NAFDAC, fruits ripened with carbide lacked nutrients, juice and were poisonous.
“Fruit ripening is a unique aspect of plant development, which makes the fruit edible, softer, sweeter, more palatable, nutritious and attractive. However, the consumption of fruits such as mango, banana, plantain, guava, orange, grape, etc, or any other fruits ripened with calcium carbide is dangerous to health,” NAFDAC stated.
NAFDAC also warned traders and farmers against using carbide to ripen it fruits. The agency said it would soon begin a nationwide monitoring of markets to ensure that carbide-ripened products are not sold to consumers.
“NAFDAC hereby warns farmers’ traders and the general public that ripening fruits with calcium carbide is very dangerous to health and is a criminal offence. Perpetrators would be prosecuted,” the agency stated.
Side effects of consuming carbide-ripened fruits
healthnews.africa has reported severally about diarrhea outbreaks in various parts of Nigeria including the country’s capital city of Abuja where at least 7 lives were lost in the latest episode. While there are several causes of diarrhea, it is one of the common presenting symptoms of consumption of fruits. Others include burning sensation or tingling sensation in the abdominal region, difficulty in swallowing, irritation of the eyes, skin, sore throat, cough, shortness of breath and numbness.
The reason why the process is dangerous to health is the usual presence, in calcium carbide, of high level of impurities such as arsenic, lead particles and phosphorus etc. These impurities can cause serious health problems such as cancer, heart, kidney and liver failure. These can as well trigger frequent thirst, irritation in the mouth, nose, vomiting, skin ulcer, among others.
Furthermore, high exposure may cause undesired fluid retention in the lungs. Acetylene produced by calcium carbide affects the neurological system and reduces oxygen supply to the brain and further induces prolonged hypoxia.
NAFDAC affirmed that eating them could trigger symptoms, such as diarrhoea (with or without blood), a burning or tingling sensation in the abdomen and chest difficulty in swallowing, irritation in eyes/skin, sore throat, cough, shortness of breath and numbness.
The agency added, “Calcium carbide generally contains impurities, such as arsenic, lead particles, phosphorus, etc. that pose a number of very serious health hazards. These impurities may cause serious health problems when those applying calcium carbide on fruits come in direct contact with the chemical.
“Consumption of fruits containing these impurities may cause cancer, heart, kidney and liver failure. They may cause frequent thirst, irritation in mouth and nose, weakness, permanent skin damage, difficulty in swallowing, vomiting, skin ulcer and so forth.
Higher exposure may cause undesired fluid build-up in the lungs (pulmonary oedema). Acetylene produced by calcium carbide affects the neurological system and reduces oxygen supply to the brain and further induces prolonged hypoxia.”
How to identify artificially ripened fruits
It could be hard to figure out, but it is actually easy to know which fruit has been artificially ripened. One of the quick ways to identify artificial ripened fruit is to carefully observe the variation of colour. If the fruit is too good among others in “near perfect” ripening colour, it may have been ripened with calcium carbide.
This is because fruit ripening is a natural and unique way of plant development which makes the fruit edible, softer, sweeter, palatable, nutritious and more attractive.
NAFDAC agrees with this tip on identifying artificially ripened fruits. It advised consumers to examine fruits carefully by observing the variation of colour.
“If the fruit that you buy is too good among others in ‘near perfect’ ripening colour, it may have been ripened with calcium carbide. Fruits should be washed thoroughly under running water before consumption,” NAFDAC stated.