Cautioning public on the adverse effects of chemically ripened mangoes in the market, Mother Dairy on Wednesday said they should, instead, opt for semi-ripened mangoes available at Safal outlets. Safal is the single-largest retailer of fruits and vegetables in the Delhi-NCR region.

As per the campaign Khud Pakao Surakshit Aam Khao launched by Safal early this year, mangoes at Safal are ripened partially through ethylene generators in their ripening chambers before being sent to the outlets for sale. Customers should wrap these mangoes in newspapers and wait for 2-3 days for them to ripe, Safal officials said.

The mangoes sold by the local vendors are 99 per cent carbide-ripened, which is harmful and reduces the taste of the fruit. Other fruits that are carbide-ripened include papaya and chikoo.

We want people across India to go for this concept, and wait patiently for mangoes to ripen naturally. This will bring back the days when ripe mangoes were plucked from the trees and eaten, said Pradipta K Sahoo, Business Head (Horticulture), Mother Dairy.