Buying ripe and getting green?

The use of chemical products for purposes other than those they are registered for is illegal. An example of this is the use of chemicals for accelerating the ripening of fruit and vegetables

LISANDRA FARIÑAS ACOSTA and SHEYLA DELGADO GUERRA

The induced maturation of fruits and vegetables by means of chemicals, and its consequences, has become a frequent concern of the population. People lose their money when the markets sell products that have been artificially ripened and have poor quality.

Many citizens question the consumer protection mechanisms and wonder what health risks could be involved in the consumption of artificially ripened fruit.

We all know how important fruit and vegetables are in our diet, because of their high content of vitamins and minerals, and because they represent a significant water intake for our bodies. But their possible introduction in our diet depends on many factors: the right attention to their growing process, the use of harmless nutritional products (mainly organic), and the avoidance of poor manipulation during harvesting and damages during transportation, among others.

Due to the high demand that fruits and vegetables have in national markets, there are producers and sellers who accelerate their maturation for quick sales. They use different techniques that range from the traditional “guaca” – used mostly for bananas and which consists on wrapping them in plastic bags and storing them in dark places – to the indiscriminate use of chemical substances.

Commercial maturation and physiological maturation are different processes. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), commercial maturation is achieved when the product has the parameters demanded by the market. Physiological maturation is associated to the nutritional composition, typical taste, softness, color… 

Unfortunately some producers forget these basic concepts to satisfy their financial aspirations and accelerate the change of pigmentation in fruits and vegetables so these can be sold before their normal harvesting cycle is complete.

MATURATION … BY WHAT MEANS

Many specialists agree on the fact that the most frequently used chemical products for this end in Cuba are carbide –the use of which for this purpose is forbidden – and even more widely used Etefon or Flordimex.

According to Dr. Gonzalo Dierksmeier, Director of the Unidad Científico Técnica de Base (UCTB) Química, of the Instituto de Sanidad Vegetal (INISAV), the use of Etefon is authorized in Cuban agriculture as a regulator of growth in rice and to induce maturation through foliar application in cultures such as pineapple, coffee, citrus, banana, sugar cane and tomato, because this is a necessary condition for adequate harvesting. It is also used by foliar application in sugar cane in the period between 6 and 12 weeks before harvesting, and in tobacco to control Orobanche ramosa.

 “This compound is included in the official list of authorized pesticides in the Registro Central de Plaguicidas de la República de Cuba” he said.

On the same subject Dr. José Carrera, Deputy Director of the Instituto de Nutrición e Higiene de los Alimentos told Granma the product is a phosphorus pesticide normally applied -fifteen days before the harvesting of the fruit- by different procedures: aspersion, immersion, or injection (application with a brush in the stem).  

José Antonio Maura Romero — Head of the Departamento de Plaguicidas, of the Centro Nacional de Sanidad Vegetal (CNSV)— affirmed that at present Etefon is imported to be used mostly for sugar cane plantations, and -in the specific case of the productions of the Ministerio de la Agricultura (MINAG)- for pineapple and tobacco cultures. 

Maura Romero also said that in our country there are several chambers where maturation procedures are carried out by means of the application of chemical gases, but the levels of residue in fruits are minimal according to international regulations. 

 “But the induction of commercial maturity through a non-specialized process in products that were harvested without the required physiological maturity, is not  a process of maturation: it is a mechanism of change in the chlorophyll pigmentation. In other words it is a process of “ungreening”, and selling this product means cheating the consumer.”

About the nutritional composition of the fruits subject to this process, Dr. José Carrera said that, “the use of high doses of Etefon causes phototoxicity in the fruit (changes in color) or dehydration for excessive maturation, and the consequent loss of their properties. The levels of soluble solids and total sugars decrease, as do the levels of vitamin C and carotenes.

The use of Etefon as a maturating agent after the harvesting is internationally regulated, but it is not regulated in Cuba. Thus our concern about this already generalized practice among the sellers in a number of stalls and push carts.

According to Article 1 of MINAG [Ministry for Agriculture] Resolution 23 of 2000, pesticides are centrally planned, balanced and controlled by the Departamento de Plaguicidas del CNSV.

However, as explained by MINAG officials, this regulation is not enforced in the marketing of the products, because the inspectors that work for Agriculture (including those in Plant Health Services) are focused on the prevention of violations in plantations and not in the markets. 

Now here is a question: If the supply of Etefon is controlled as part of the technological package distributed to the growers who specialize in the products mentioned before, how is it possible that it finds its way to be used for unauthorized purposes, and those responsible are not accountable?

HARMLESS?

Apart from feeling cheated, the question every citizen asks after the failed purchase of one of these products is whether they would be risking their health if they consume the product. There has been a lot of speculation on the harmful effects of fruits maturated with chemical substances; one of the concerns is whether they can activate cancer cells.

Dr. José Carrera tells us that so far the available literature shows no record that the residues present in fruits and vegetables after the application of Etefon can cause acute toxicity, “because this would require higher levels and considerable daily intakes.”

Dr. Gonzalo Dierksmeier from Sanidad Vegetal explains that Etefon is a substance with a 3% toxicity level in the World Health Organization scale, and this level is not significant.

 “Etefon has the property of penetrating the crops and release ethylene, a gas that produces the maturating effect. What remains as a residue of the molecule?  Chlorydric and phosphoric acids, none of which has harmful effects.

In the right doses the product is harmless to human health. But, is it being used like that? Would it have the same impact on healthy persons than on people with a certain ailment or health condition? Could its irrational use represent a risk for those who manipulate the substance? 

We cannot forget the fact that we are talking about a pesticide, and as such it is subject to administration and manipulation protection norms that must be followed by technicians and producers. Thus, the compliance with good agricultural practices is essential. 

The chemical substances that are used as maturating agents – or better said as “ungreeners”, are one of the many sides of illegality and their irregular use is another expression of the impunity of law breakers. While one institution passes responsibility on to another and vice versa the problem is there … and grows. In the end it is the population that pays high prices for products with a certain quality that in reality they do not have. 

It is then the responsibility of the authorities and institutions of MINAG, the Grupo Azucarero, MINCIN and MINSAP to change this situation; to establish effective norms for the control and supervision of the use of these substances, and contribute to something as important and necessary as consumer protection. 

It is a crime

The Fiscalía General de la República informed that persons involved in the deviation and illicit use of this type of products may be guilty of crimes of robbery, misappropriation and embezzlement. Consequently the punishment can be severe.

Article 198 of the Código Penal on the crimes against public health decrees that “Persons who acquire, traffic, store, facilitate, process, receive, use, transport, or export contaminated or contaminating substances or objects destined to be disinfected or wasted; or retains them without proper authorization will be punished with prison terms ranging from six months to 2 years, or a 200 to 500 peso fine, or both.”