Navi Mumbai, June 3 -- In one of the biggest food-safety crackdowns in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region this season, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has seized more than 3.4 tonnes of mangoes from the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) market in Vashi that were suspected to have been artificially ripened using unauthorised chemical sprays. The two-day operation, conducted under the directions of FDA commissioner Tukaram Mundhe, resulted in the seizure of 3,453 kg of mangoes worth Rs.11.12 lakh from three establishments in the wholesale fruit market, officials said. In simultaneous action across Navi Mumbai and Thane, the FDA also confiscated gutkha, pan masala and flavoured tobacco products worth Rs.4.74 lakh, taking the total value of seized goods to Rs.15.86 lakh, officials said. The drive against banned tobacco products resulted in 37 arrests and the closure of 31 establishments. FDA officials said inspections at the APMC market revealed the alleged use of ethylene-like sprays to hasten mango ripening. Samples of the seized mangoes have been sent for laboratory testing, and further action will depend on the findings. Officials clarified that while no evidence of calcium carbide-a banned ripening agent-was detected during the inspections, direct application of ethylene-like sprays on fruits is also prohibited under food-safety regulations. Fruits can only be ripened through approved ethylene chamber systems operated under controlled conditions. "The use of unauthorised chemicals in the food chain is a serious public-health concern. Strict action will be taken wherever violations are established," said an FDA official associated with the operation....