FSSAI to inspect samples of spices and infant food pan-India
NEW DELHI : India's top food regulator, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), will conduct sampling of major spice and infant nutrition brands in India, a senior government official said requesting anonymity. The move follows two separate reports of alleged food violations by brands in spices and infant nutrition categories. FSSAI has deployed state food commissioners and issued orders for samples of major spice brands to be taken from their manufacturing units pan-India, the official said.
These samples will be sent to accredited testing labs to detect pesticide ethylene oxide. Samples of spices from India were found to have more than permissible level of ethylene oxide in some overseas markets recently. On 5 April, Hong Kong banned three MDH and one Everest-branded spice powder after the Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region found the presence of ethylene oxide in several spice mixes.
The pesticide was found in three spice mixes from MDH Group—Madras curry powder, sambhar masala powder, and curry powder mixed masala powder. Then, last week, the Singapore Food Agency recalled Everest Fish Curry Masala from India due to the presence of ethylene oxide at levels exceeding permissible limit. Ethylene oxide is not authorised for use in food, Singapore Food Agency said in a statement.
“Although there is no immediate risk to consumption of food contaminated with low levels of ethylene oxide, long-term exposure may lead to health issues. Therefore, exposure to this substance should be minimized as much as possible," the agency said. “In the domestic market, action has been initiated already," the official mentioned above said. "The food authority has
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