Abstract
 In recent times there is much concern about artificial ripening of fruits in many parts of the world including Bangladesh. Large amount of tropical fruits are produced in Bangladesh. Though fruits like mango naturally ripen in trees; some chemicals are used to ripen them artificially which hasten the ripening process. Ripe fruits are not suitable to carry & distribute as they get rotten. So fruit traders pick unripe fruits & use certain methods to increase the shelf life of them. For many years Ethylene had been used as a fruit ripening agent. But nowa- days Calcium carbide is getting popular in this regard as it has a faster ripening property. But inappropriate use of Carbide to ripen fruits is associated with many health hazards. In this topic we have tried to reveal the essentials of this burning issue & looked for solutions.    DOI = 10.3329/jom.v9i1.1425 J MEDICINE 2008; 9 : 42-44
Highlights
In recent times there is much concern about artificial ripening of fruits in many parts of the world including Bangladesh
3 Though ethylene promotes the ripening process & improves colour development of the fruits, it has some disadvantages in post harvest shelf life & can be harmful to product quality
The fruits were packed with calcium carbide and were moistened by a drop of water before being tightly covered with newspaper to prevent the leakage of acetylene
Summary
Use of ethylene for ripening of the fruit is a common practice in different countries but due to high cost and scarcity in terms of its availability, many developing countries like Bangladesh, India & Pakistan use low-cost calcium carbide to ripen fruit. Acetylene gas is generated from calcium carbide, which initiates the ripening process in a similar manner to ethylene.
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