Every summer, we look forward to having the most luscious mangoes — juicy, sweet and incredibly fragrant. And India, by far has the best and most varieties of this king of fruits. But, I have to tell you that this season has been utterly disappointing. Most mangoes I bought looked great but had a slight bitter taste to them. It was only towards the end of season that I managed to eat some really good ones. Mangoes from Gurdev’s aunt’s village and my mil’s house were the best and sweetest we ate. The reason we learnt is that most people are using dangerous chemicals to ripen mangoes artificially. Some use calcium carbide, a carcinogen and a toxic substance, to ripen mangoes including the government promoted HOPKOMS outlets. This is really sad because not only are they harming our health, but it is a pointless exercise because they are killing the taste of the fruit and thus reducing demand.
Apparently, such practices are in use in India pretty commonly with fruit traders waxing fruits for shine and using ripening agents to prematurely ripen fruits. The government must try to crack down on such practices. But, as consumers beware while shopping. Also, it is advisable to remove peels of fruits wherever possible, immerse fruits in water for sometime to help wash off chemicals, and repeatedly wash them in warm or salty water. This is advisable even for green vegetables or veggies used for salads. It is better to be safe than sorry. Instead of getting nutrition from fruits and vegetables, we certainly don’t want to end up in hospitals, do we?
Pic courtesy: Arvind Balaraman/Free Digital Photos.net
I’ve stopped buying mangoes for precisely this reason. This season about a month ago, I had an urge to eat mangoes. We bought 1kg and they turned out to be sour. Did not like at all. Apples are given a coating of wax for it to look shiny. I didn’t believe this till I scraped the surface with a butter knife and a thin layer of wax came off!
as deepa said…i have seen photos of wax being scraped from apple, but did not know about the carcinogen stuff in mangoes…..informative indeed….am sharing it on the web with my friends….luckily the mangoes i have had this year were from my own tree and were sweet and yummy
@Deepa It is so disappointing that something as basic as mangoes have to be bought with suspicion. I know with apples, jamun, even brinjals it is so common to apply wax. I even asked the HOPKOMS chap why are you doing it? He says people don’t buy if we give them green mangoes that takes more than a week to ripen after being bought. According to him, shiny stuff is preferred. All this is so sad.
@deekay Thank you. Yes, it is true. There was an article in DNA and TOI also about the same sometime back. You are very lucky to have your own mango tree!
The government did crack down on some godowns stocking mangoes and injecting them with all kinds of chemicals, to make look attractive and tempting. That is how it made it to the news channels recently.
We have always been in the habit of soaking all vegetables and fruits overnight in water. This good for it helps in releasing all the unwanted chemicals, and keeps us relatively safe.
Mangoes should never be eaten without soaking, as I found many years ago that eating magoes just like that, brings out all kinds of pimples and boils in the face and the body. It was then a Gujarthi friend of mine told it was supposed to be soaked in water overnight before eating, so that the heat in the mangoes, plus certain natural chemicals would be released overnight in the water, making the mangoes ready and fit to be eaten in the morning without any side effects.
From the time i started following her advise I never got pimples/ rashes or boils after eating mangoes.
I keep telling everyone to do that.
Your blog is a good eye opener for people who still don’t soak vegetables and fruits in water overnight.
Wish we had very strict laws against the use of toxic substances to the food material be it grains,milk ,fruits ,vegetables or sweets.Sad .
once i reached chennai, enjoyed my fav fruit, thee king of fruits, n could leave the..shucks..i dont want to talk abt it..forget it.. i was told mangoes were injected with some bullshit
Sad to know that even HOPCOMS products also have these problems. I thought at least govt establishments might not be provoked to do these acts.
using chemicals is very common thing, that too specially in Mangoes, and i don’t think there is anyway out to get away from this unless you get the Mango directly from the orchard, but unfortunately its not that easy these days…..
dats bad..I had heard that..
India needs to strengthen its laws!..
My bro was here in US last summers for holidays..he told me ..most of the sweets in festive season is also made with synthetic versions …
…its scary!
What an informative article! Thanks for the advice… washing the fruit in salty water or soaking for a while before eating. Learnt something new.
@rama But, the very fact that HOPKOMS outlets were doing it is shocking to me. I hope more people learn to be careful with produce these days. Also, I never came across bad tasting mangoes till now. This was a first for this season.
@kavita Yes, no one seems to care in India. Banned pesticides continue to be used shamelessly. There is an agitation in Kerala about the ban of endosulfan.
@Ramesh I know, it feels horrible with all kinds of things being injected in our fruits and vegetables.
@Aathira Yeah, that bothered me a lot too.
@Harman I know, it’s truly sad. We are all aware how jalebis get an artificial color or how your Chinese or tandoori chicken get that awful orange color. But, at least they must use food-grade colors and not some cheap carcinogens.
@Emmy Thanks!
One reason is,most of the good crop is exported and what is known to be not best quality which is sold in India
We dont have strict law on food. Thats why. They use all sort of unethical practice to ripen fruits.
Human life comes last – after money, business etc..So sad here in our country
For these reasons only we had stopped buying Indian mangoes and started buying Pakistani ones, but thsi year they too have gone the Indian way 🙁
Feel so helpless, confused and scared… what is unadulterated? what do we eat?
It’s really depressing that we have to fear everything especially fruits and vegetables but awareness is more important so that we can save lives in time.
@BKC That could be true. But then we have so many local varieties of mangoes that are not exported. These ripening agents are used due to the greed of traders who want to push the produce in the market urgently.
@Insignia Human life has the least value in this country. God only knows, what ailments will surface in the future with all this contamination and pollution.
@BBsearchingself What does one do when most vegetables and fruits become health hazards?
@Alka I feel the same way. What should we blame when kids keep falling sick again and again? How do we protect our health?
@Swapna I know it is depressing. Simple things like juicy fruits have to be eaten with care.
I’ve been reading a lot of articles stating the dangers of eating mangoes and other fruits. What do we eat ???
I’ve been reading a lot of articles stating the dangers of eating mangoes and other fruits. What do we eat ???
I’ve been reading a lot of articles stating the dangers of eating mangoes and other fruits. What do we eat ???
I’ve been reading a lot of articles stating the dangers of eating mangoes and other fruits. What do we eat ???
I’ve been reading a lot of articles stating the dangers of eating mangoes and other fruits. What do we eat ???
I’ve been reading a lot of articles stating the dangers of eating mangoes and other fruits. What do we eat ???
I’ve been reading a lot of articles stating the dangers of eating mangoes and other fruits. What do we eat ???
I’ve been reading a lot of articles stating the dangers of eating mangoes and other fruits. What do we eat ???
@Ashwini Welcome to my blog. I wish I had an answer to that. I have been thinking about the same.
very relevant post.
i love mangoes. So even though i know abt all the malpractices happening, i just cant help myself going right ahead & buying them. cant wait for “healthy” ones to come my way right? plus how do we even confirm which r the really ‘safe’ ones. most buyers, like me, are buying for the sheer love of this fruit – damage to health notwithstanding
Nowadays we are really hesitant to buy fruits from the market. We are sure that without poisonous content no mangoes appear in markets..Better we may go back to nature, nurture some trees and plants, and eat the only fruits that are grown in our orchards..
Scary indeed. Like Tomz’s idea…
@Sujatha Welcome to my space. Hope to see you here often. I know perhaps that is what is happening to us unknowingly. But, when the taste of the fruit is bad, you know that something is wrong. We don’t know what ill effects will plague us due to consumption of these in the future.
@Tomz Surely, we can’t be sure of what is sold in the market but you are forgetting that not everyone has the real estate, time and energy to get into cultivation of fruits and veggies.
@NRIGirl Definitely scary!
I hope they listen to what you are suggesting.
I am happy or WAS happy when i was there as we had our own mangoe trees so did not have to buy from shops..
Money making is top agenda how they do it nad what it does to public is NO ones business..
sad we are ourself takingour own country down the drain ..
Bikram’s
Hi I have an award for you waiting at my blog, please pick up when you have time 🙂
Hey Rachna.. Feels really sad at the state of the Indian market. It is based on consumerism.
I have not purchased mangoes as we own a mango orchard. Lucky there. But, from what I have seen, I know that the best qualities are exported first. They are paid high. The second grade and third grade hit local markets and even that is adulterated.
Sad state of our country. 🙁
@Emmy Hey thanks so much. I will surely pick it up soon.
@Spicy Sweet Welcome to my blog. Yes, perhaps we get second or third grade horrible tasting stuff these days laden with pesticides. How is this country functioning? It is pathetic.
I am being careful about all fruits.Apples being sold here stays for about a month! They have coated something like wax on to them,which shines and keeps them.Almost all fruits are rich in pesticides,specially mangoes.
This was the reason why we used to grow fruit trees in our yards. I dont remember buying fruits till I left home.
I have notices that the mangoes sold here,all have the shiny golden color.But inside they are pale and even unripe.I am sure they do something to make the color.
dr.antony You are absolutely right. Mangoes have a lovely yellow color and inside have a bitter unripe taste :(. My son has started taking a really tiny bite with skepticism when he consumes mangoes which is really sad. I think, for this season, I am done with mangoes.
good source of info.In the US ,I see that often they use the wax over apples usually and that’s how it stays for so long without spoiling.can you imagine an apple not spoling for 3 weeks even if kept outside!in India it used to spoil in just 4 5 days.Anyways ,after hearing this happening there also ,I am surprised.
@raji Oh Yes, the contamination is becoming much worse here.