A division bench of the High Court at Hyderabad comprising Acting Chief Justice D.B. Bhosale and Justice S.V. Bhatt on Wednesday asked the Central government and two Telugu-speaking State governments to submit a concrete action plan to deal with the menace of ‘carbide fruits’.
The bench was dealing with the taken up case regarding the use of calcium carbide for quick ripening of fruits. The bench heard at length the report submitted by the amicus curie who explained the ill effects of this chemical on human body. The bench also impleaded the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) at New Delhi and Food Safety Commissioners in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana as the respondents and sought the response within two weeks.
The Andhra Pradesh and Telangana governments told the court that the raids were continuing and action had been initiated against the violators of the norms.
The bench said the pressure was to be continued upon the fruit merchants. The case will be listed after two weeks.
