After hearing reports that some people were using calcium carbide to ripen fruits in Billiri Local Government Area of Gombe State, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) visited the area on Friday to raise awareness.
Fruits give the body important nutrients that help boost immunity and prevent sickness. Ripening is a natural process that makes fruits soft, sweet, tasty, nutritious, and ready to eat.
But eating fruits like mangoes, bananas, plantains, guavas, oranges, grapes, or any others that were ripened with calcium carbide is dangerous to your health.
During the awareness campaign, NAFDAC’s Gombe State Coordinator, Pharmacist James Agada, said they got reports that some fruits in the area may have been ripened using calcium carbide.
“Calcium carbide is harmful and can affect people’s health badly,” Agada said. “We are here to protect the public and encourage fruit sellers to use safe methods.”
Agada also explained how to spot artificially ripened fruits. He said, “If the fruit looks ripe on the outside but is unripe inside, it may have been ripened with calcium carbide. Also, if bananas or plantains are fully yellow but have dark stems, that is a warning sign. Naturally ripened fruits often have brown or black spots, while the ones ripened with chemicals may have powdery substances and their skin peels off easily.”
He warned that eating such fruits can lead to serious health problems like cancer, heart issues, kidney and liver failure. It may also cause dry mouth, nose irritation, weakness, skin problems, vomiting, difficulty swallowing, and ulcers.
Agada said that NAFDAC’s first step is to educate and inform sellers before starting strict enforcement.
“We are asking fruit sellers to follow the rules. But if anyone continues to break them, we will take action. Our main goal is to protect people’s health,” he said.
He also advised sellers to report anyone using calcium carbide. He reminded them to always check for NAFDAC registration numbers on products and introduced helpful tools like the Green Book app, NAPAMS, and Scan2Verify to check if products are real.
In response, the Chairman of the Fruit Sellers Association in Billiri, Mr. Murtala Mohammed, thanked NAFDAC for the visit and promised that their members would follow the rules.
“We thank NAFDAC for this awareness program. I also warn our members not to use calcium carbide because of its health risks. There are safer options like using pear or garden egg extracts to ripen fruits,” he said.
