A number of fruits seller are selling calcium carbide ripening fruits in every nook and corner of markets in India.
Calcium carbide is a corrosive and harmful chemical as it contains traces of arsenic and phosphorous poisoning. Most of the time calcium carbide is used to ripe the fruits prematurely. This is done to increase the sales of the fruits. Some of the times it helps but in lot of times such artificial ripping process leads to more issues.
It is known that the consumption of calcium carbide ripened fruit causes several adverse effects on the health. The early symptoms of such poisoning are weakness, vomiting, thirst, difficulty in swallowing, diarrhea with or without blood, burning sensation in chest and abdomen, irritation or burning in eyes and skin, ulcer, soreness in throat, cough , shortness of breath etc.
Generally mango, banana, papaya and sometimes tomato are ripened using calcium carbide. The most common difference between the naturally ripened and artificially ripened fruits are that the former look attractive, but not uniformly colored whereas the later don't look very attractive but uniformly colored. Also the artificial are generally sour in the core though the outer portion is sweet whereas in the case of naturally ripened, they are sweet throughout.
