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She explained that her banana and
plantain stocks, which are ripened in this manner usually come out fresh
and can stay for days without going bad. She also added that she was
aware of the fact that people use carbide to ripen seasonal fruits like
mango, banana, cucumber, plantain, pineapple, watermelon, guava, pawpaw
and even others like apple, tomatoes, and grapes. But she said those who
do that know themselves, but she and her colleagues in the market do
not.
A yet another shocking investigative
and explosive report has revealed that the fruit you are gnawing on to
do your body the desired good, may send you six feet below in a black
body bag.
A woman who refused to give her
name however shared that it is mostly bananas and plantains, which she
sells that she puts through many processes. She, however, explained that
she does not make use of any form of chemicals, but she wets the fruits
with normal water and then wraps them in several layers of a sack for a
couple of days.
These act were found to be common in
urban cities, especially in Lagos. Since the fruits are mostly brought
in from other parts of the country, it is difficult to control supply.
So, retailers tend to use these unnatural methods to ripen fruits to
meet demand.
A food nutritionist explained the
process of carbide ripening. “Most fruits are picked long before they
are ripe for easy transportation. The moment the fruits are sizeable,
for example plantain, it is immediately cut down and shipped. Some
fruits are able to continue ripening after being picked, however, others
can ripen only on the plant and thus have a short shelf life if
harvested when they are ripe. This makes it tricky to harvest, ship and
sell.”
She further revealed that sometimes,
plantain on its own would take another one to two months to ripen, but
they harvest it all the same. Once harvested, because they need to sell
it for good profit especially when it is not in season, they rub the
fruits copiously with carbide and then wrap them in black plastic bags
to attract light. Then, they hide it in warm dark corners and leave it
overnight. By the time they open it up in the morning, the previously
unripe bananas are ripe.
When asked where they procure such
harmful chemicals like carbide from, the expert explained that there are
a number of sources, the easiest being through panel beaters who come
across the substance easily.
The story of a staff of Independent
Newspapers who died from kidney failure after eating bananas he bought
from Ojota bus-stop, Lagos on December 24, 2016 immediately comes to
mind. This tells us that quickened ripening of fruits is not as alien or
difficult to come by as was once thought, a confirmation of Mrs. Oni’s
words.
A young man recently shared his
experience that nearly took his life. He explained that he bought
roasted plantain, (boli) a favourite Nigerian delicacy usually eaten
with groundnuts, from a roadside vendor and planned to eat it for
dinner.
Upon tasting the plantain, he realised
something was different and was unable to finish it, so he abandoned it.
He woke up with a mild stomach ache in the middle of the night, but
after an hour of consuming salt and water mixture with the hope of
relief, he realised he was in trouble and was taken to the hospital by
his family. He was confirmed to have been poisoned and when the remnant
of his ‘boli’ was tested, it was discovered that the poisoning agent was
carbide.
After he was treated and discharged, he
shared that he went to confront the seller who chased him off with a
broom saying “don’t you want me to sell market?” Evidently, the hundred
naira for the boli was worth more to her than the life of the young man.
Another man explained his experience
after eating bananas bought in Ikeja, Lagos axis. He explained that
while the banana looked fresh and ripe on the outside, the fruit inside
was a different case as it tasted unripe and hard. While he smartly
stopped eating the said fruits immediately he noticed this, the little
he had consumed took its toll and he felt uncomfortable. He stated that
his discomfort and several visits to the toilet did not abate the pain
and he immediately went to the hospital. It was while at the hospital
that he was confirmed to be suffering the effects of food poisoning.
These cases are not isolated as there are hundreds more of such reported and unreported cases of fruit related food poisoning.
Fruits are supposed to be the most
natural and nutritious edibles consumed by man, but here in Nigeria,
they have become death traps.
Speaking with Mrs. Rufai, a pharmacist,
she explained that carbide is simply poison. Therefore introducing that
into the system of a living thing would cause a fatal reaction.
Dr. Damian Avar, a General Practitioner
and the founder and CEO of DoctorsHub Nigeria explained in an interview
that “while there are a few ripening agents out there, calcium carbide
(used in welding) is the most used agent because it is very cheap to buy
and it is also easily available. When the calcium carbide mixes with
water, it releases a garlic-smelling gas, acetylene, which performs a
similar ripening action as ethylene- the natural ripening agent that
ripens fruits. Calcium carbide is replete with toxic metals like arsenic
and lead, and some traces of phosphorus hydride. For this singular
reason, calcium carbide has been banned for use as a ripening agent in
most developed countries of the world.
Apart from making the fruits less
juicy, less tasty, have shorter lives and making them lose their natural
flavours and aromas, calcium carbide has been found to cause the
following health hazards like diarrhoea with or without blood, severe
gastrointestinal upset, permanent eye damage, stomach ulcer, severe
irritation of the skin, mouth, and throat, liver injury amongst other.
By every conceivable metric, fruits
ripened with carbide have far more severe outcomes than the consumption
of unripe fruits. For unripe fruits, it is just the high acid content of
the fruits that make them unhealthy for consumption. One thing is for
sure, consumption of artificially ripened fruits can manifest health
complications, severe enough to cause death.”
Another expert confirmed all the
gathered information. He explained that “for example, banana fruits are
picked when green before their maturity date and artificially ripened
after shipment by being gassed with ethylene. Calcium Carbide (CaC2)
hastens the ripening process when CaC2 comes in contact with water; it
produces acetylene gas that hastens the ripening of several fruits such
as mangoes, bananas, and apples.
However, the problem lies in whether
these traders have the necessary knowledge or incentive to carry out
this process in the correct manner. The fruits are stacked in a room,
all ventilation to the room is then blocked off, and the fruits will
ripen in three to five days in the gas (ethylene) that is released.
This substance ensures that there is
uniform ripening of the fruits. In addition, the fruits retain their
flavour. Research, however, shows that either using ethel (another
ripening agent) or CaC2; the chemical must not touch the fruits.
Research further conducted shows the
properties of CaC2 and warned against its use to ripen fruits. In a
related report, it states that CaC2 is a chemical, which is commonly
used by traders to ripen fruits in the local markets. This compound is
known to contain impurities such as arsenic & phosphorous and is
extremely hazardous to human health.
Consumers who are unaware of these
inappropriate ripening procedures adopted may inadvertently take in
these toxic compounds, which are found on the surface of the commodities
or when these compounds penetrate the dermal layers of the product to
lodge in the flesh of the fruits.
Emphatically, traders have been seen
applying carbide directly onto the fruits, as most of the traders feel
alternative and safer ripening process methods suggested were
impracticable and not cost effective.”
The question now is “who secures the
health of Nigerians from the greedy disposition of the fruit of death
sellers?” Yes, we have the Ministry of Health and the National Agency
for Food And Drug Administration and Control, but do they actually
regulate the so-called naturally produced foods we eat?
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