India: FDA raids five fruit companies

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials raided five fruit companies at cotton market for artificially ripening bananas with the help of hazardous chemicals on Saturday morning. Around 21.5 tonnes of bananas worth Rs 2.15 lakh was seized. The raid is said to be one of the biggest in the city.
The raid was a result of a tip-off given to the FDA officials. Officials said that the vendors were using a fungicide to ripen the fruit. Twenty-six bottles of harmful chemicals and six types of bananas were seized. The five companies that were raided included Manish Nandagawli Fruit Company, Lalaji and Muneshwar Fruit Company, Rajendra Suple and Brothers Fruit Merchants, LMC Company and Sahoo Fruit Centre.
The FDA officials added that the chemicals used are so harmful that consuming ripened fruits regularly could cause cancer or a paralytic attack. Ganeshpeth cops registered a case against the fruit companies.