Artificially ripened Alphonso mangoes destroyed by FDA

Nashik: Artificially ripened Alphonso mangoes worth Rs 1.25 lakh were destroyed by the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) at a local fruit market here, official sources said on Saturday. Around 1,400 kilos of Alphonso mangoes worth Rs 1.25 lakh were seized from a shop at Sharadchandra fruit market here on Thursday as they were being ripened artificially using calcium carbide, FDA sources said.

The fruits were destroyed at Nashik Municipal Corporation's fertiliser project a day later, they said.

The FDA officials recovered four kgs of calcium carbide, used for artificially ripening the mangoes, which was then sent for laboratory testing to Pune.