How is fruit ripening treated in industry

It is explosive in nature and studies have shown that it breaks down the organic composition of vitamins and other micronutrients.

Besides, it changes only the skin colour: the fruit remains raw inside. In addition, industrial grade calcium carbide is often found contaminated with trace amounts of arsenic and phosphorus, which are toxic chemicals.

Other symptoms include throat sores, cough, wheezing and shortness of breath. Consumption of artificially ripened mangoes can upset stomach. It damages the mucosal tissue in the stomach and disrupts the intestinal function. If a person is exposed to the chemicals for a long time, they can causes peptic ulcers. According to studies, calcium carbide can also affect the neurological system by inducing prolonged hypoxia.

It causes symptoms like headache, dizziness, high sleepiness, memory loss, cerebral oedema, numbness in the legs and hands, general weakness, cold and damp skin, low blood pressure and seizure.

Pregnant women particularly need to be very careful and should not consume such fruits and vegetables. Anyone using it can be imprisoned for three years along with a fine of Rs 1, However, no effective action plan has been devised to implement it.

How to know whether a fruit has been artificially ripened or not? This process is particularly obvious in bananas as they ripen.

Green bananas do not taste sweet at all, and the riper they get, the sweeter they taste. There is also a decrease in acidity as the fruit ripens and a decrease in bitter plant substances, such as alkaloids.

Last, as fruits ripen they produce complex compounds that are released into the surrounding air, giving a ripe fruit its pleasant aroma. Through these changes, fruits ripen and become sweet, colored, soft, and good-tasting. A major concern with ripened fruit is that it does not last very long before it begins to spoil.

The loss of firmness and the production of sugars associated with ripening can also make the fruit susceptible to pathogens like bacteria and spoilage. Over-softening of fruit is a major cause of spoilage during transportation, particularly for tropical fruits, such as mangoes and bananas. Spoilage can be reduced by rapid transportation of fresh fruits, or by slowing down fruit ripening.

There are several ways to slow down fruit ripening. One way to slow down ripening is by lowering the temperature. Cold temperatures above freezing are usually used. Even though all fruit can be frozen, upon thawing many fruits lose their flavor and their texture and become very mushy.

Raspberries are a possible exception—they can often be found frozen in the grocery store. Normally, to freeze fruit, the fruit is first cut into small pieces and when thawed, these pieces can be used to make purees or smoothies. The good news is that freezing tends to retain the nutritional value of the fruit.

Several fruits, such as bananas, can be damaged by chilling and this limits this approach [ 2 ]. That is why we do not put bananas in the fridge! Another way to slow down ripening is by controlling the atmosphere around the fruit, primarily by increasing carbon dioxide levels and reducing oxygen levels.

Fruit need oxygen to ripen, so if there is less oxygen in the atmosphere, the fruit will ripen more slowly. One final way to slow down ripening is to block the action of ethylene. Ethylene is a hormone required to trigger fruit ripening, and it can be blocked by using synthetic compounds, such as 1-methyl-cyclo-propene 1-MCP.

However, in some fruits, ethylene levels shoot up when the fruit starts ripening. Learn more about the process of ripening fruit. Store your fruit in a controlled atmosphere. For some fruit, like apples, kiwi, or avocados, controlled-atmosphere warehousing increases lifespan by preserving the quality of stored products. Learn more about controlled atmosphere. Complementary know-how. Deep-freezing is a low-temperature preservation technique which preserves the taste and vitamin content, as well as the color and texture of fresh fruit.

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Download references. MNI carried out a major part of the literature review and drafted the manuscript. MM carried out literature review for selected sections and helped to revise the manuscript. MSK conceived the study, supervised the research project, coauthored and supervised manuscript preparation, and helped to finalize the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. The research and manuscript are free of conflict of interest.

You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar. Correspondence to Mohidus Samad Khan. Reprints and Permissions. Islam, M. A review on the legislative aspect of artificial fruit ripening. Download citation. Received : 14 January Accepted : 13 May Published : 20 June Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:. Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article. Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative.

Skip to main content. Search all BMC articles Search. Download PDF. Abstract Fruit ripening is a natural process in which a fruit goes through various physical and chemical changes and gradually becomes sweet, colored, soft, and palatable. Background Different fruit ripening agents can be used to ripen fruits artificially and to provide fruits the desired color and taste within a short time. Artificial fruit ripening Mechanism of natural fruit ripening Natural fruit ripening is a combination of physiological, biochemical, and molecular processes [ 21 — 24 ].

Table 1 List of commonly used chemicals for fruit ripening and their effects on human health [ 1 , 5 — 7 , 32 ] Full size table. Table 2 Laws and regulations practiced in the SAARC countries to prohibit artificial fruit ripening and food adulteration [ 40 ] Full size table. Full size image. The GSO consists of three subcommittees for food-related issues [ 58 ]: 1. Labeling Subcommittee presided by Oman 3. Additives Subcommittee presided by Saudi Arabia The standard no.

For example, Qatar imposed a set of regulations on food quality investigation [ 60 ]: All newly processed food products arriving in the market are subjected to laboratory analysis Subsequent shipments of a product that has passed the initial testing will be subject to further laboratory analysis again after 6 months A product failing a previous inspection will be thoroughly examined on subsequent shipments for an undisclosed length of time.

Legal status: African countries In Africa, calcium carbide is widely used as an artificial fruit ripening agent [ 1 , 3 — 5 , 61 ]. Country focus: Nigeria Nigeria is a mixed economy emerging market in Africa. These codes are as follows [ 69 ]: Code of hygienic practice for canned fruit and vegetable products Code of hygienic practice for dried fruits Code of hygienic practice for dehydrated fruits and vegetables including edible fungi Code of practice for the packaging and transport of fresh fruit and vegetables Code of hygienic practice for fresh fruits and vegetables.

Controlling and prohibiting artificial fruit ripening in Nigeria. Legal status: western countries In different Western countries, selected ripening agents are allowed to be applied to ripen specific fruits under controlled condition.

CFIA gives more emphasis on ensuring the quality of water used in food and vegetable processing; the following features are suggested to ensure production under hygienic conditions: No stagnant or polluted water should be used in the washing or fluming of the produce; Only potable water is to be used in the final rinsing of the produce to remove any surface contaminant before packing; The final rinse water, if reused, is used only in the initial washing or fluming of the product.