Profit gets priority over safety

Toxic chemicals are being applied to jackfruits in Ghatail of Tangail so that they ripe faster. Photo: Star

Harmful chemicals are widely used in Tangail district to quicken the ripening of jackfruits to make windfall profits from early sales.
Jackfruit, the country's national fruit, is produced in huge quantities every year in four hilly upazilas of the district -- Madhupur, Ghatail, Sakhipur and Mirzapur. Traders send much of the produce to other districts, including the capital, during the season.
Wholesalers said that to ripen a jackfruit early, they pierce a hole in it with an iron rod and inject chemicals -- calcium carbide, ethrel, copper sulfide, ripen etc -- into the hole. The fruits are then piled up and kept covered by polythene sheets until they ripen, which usually takes less than 24 hours.
Some traders spray chemicals on jackfruits to ripen them.
Not only jackfruits, traders use chemicals on all seasonal fruits that grow abundantly in the district, such as pineapples, bananas and mangoes, though they are well aware of the hazardous impacts on health.
Consumers of such fruits become vulnerable to various diseases, including cancer, liver and kidney disorders, asthma and dysentery, said Nazrul Islam, civil surgeon of Tangail.
Jackfruits bring handsome profits to growers and are often seen as an alternative to rice among the poor for several months during the rainy season, local people and traders say. But the taste declines due to their premature ripening.
There are at least 273 government-approved chemical shops in Madhupur upazila alone. Besides, plenty more unauthorised chemical shops have sprouted in all the upazilas of the district.