Indian food products are facing bans in various countries
India’s two famous powdered spice manufacturers, MDH and Everest Spices, have been under investigation in various countries over the discovery of cancer-causing ingredient ethylene oxide in their spices. In the meantime, a ban has been imposed on the sale of spices by these two Indian companies from the markets of Singapore and Hong Kong in Asia.
A year ago, 140 children died in Africa after drinking cold-fever syrup from an Indian pharmaceutical company. This raises questions about the quality of products of Indian companies around the world. In the aftermath of that incident, it was reported in Hong Kong last April that two Indian companies had found cancer-causing ingredients in their powdered spices. Later, Hong Kong suspended the sale of three types of spices used in fish cooking by the Indian company MDH and a powdered spice from Everest.
Similar measures are being taken in countries such as Australia, New Zealand and the United States as authorities in Hong Kong issue warnings about the quality of MDH and Everest spices. In the meantime, investigations have been started to find out whether there is presence of chemicals in the products of those two companies in these countries.
India’s two largest spice companies have faced similar allegations in the past. Harmful bacteria were found in some MDH products exported to the US market in 2019. MDH later withdrew those products from the country’s market. And in 2023, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found bacteria in Everest’s powdered spices. At that time, the FDA ordered the withdrawal of Everest powdered spices from the US market.
Hong Kong’s Center for Food Safety (CFS) said in a statement on April 5 that three powdered spices from MDH and one from Everest contained high levels of ethylene oxide. which is unfit for human consumption. Long-term use of ethylene oxide carries a high risk of developing cancer. CFS later ordered the withdrawal of these two companies’ spices from the Hong Kong market.
Following Hong Kong’s decision, Singapore also ordered the withdrawal of Everest powder from its market. At the same time, Singapore Food Agency (SFA), the country’s market regulator, advises not to use these spices in cooking. The company said the products concerned were also imported into Singapore. The SFA has ordered all importing firms to recall MDH and Everest products.
The India Spice Board, a state-owned organization responsible for India’s spice exports, said that the level of ethylene oxide used in spice products varies from country to country. Countries such as the UK and Norway limit the presence of ethylene oxide to 0.02 mg per kg and Canada and the US to 7 mg per kg.
Pesticides are widely used in agriculture in India. And the presence of these pesticides is often found in food products. According to Indian government data, the amount of cultivated area using chemical pesticides increased by 33.4 percent to 1.8216 hectares in the fiscal year ending March 2019 to 2023. That is almost seven times more than the area cultivated using pesticides in 2023.
Referring to the use of pesticides in agriculture, Indian consulting firm Third Eyesite Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Devanshu Dutta said, ‘We can look at the spice product seriously. We need to be stricter on the use of pesticides.”
Regulators in the US, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Singapore have raised questions about India’s export market worth around USD 700 million, according to a report released by research firm Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) on Wednesday. Prompt investigation and publication of results has become imperative to restore consumer confidence in Indian spice products worldwide. The lack of clear communication on the part of Indian government agencies in this regard is quite disappointing.
Trials have begun against Indian food products in the European market. The European Food Safety Authority has said that the presence of the same chemical has been found in more than five hundred Indian products exported to the European Union (EU). The agency said 527 Indian products exported to Europe were found to contain the chemical ethylene oxide. But Indian officials have not taken any proactive steps to ban the use of these chemicals.
From September 2020 to April 2024, European Union food safety authorities found ethylene oxide in 527 products associated with India. Most of these are nuts and sesame seeds (313), herbs and spices (60), diet foods (48) and other food products (34).
87 consignments of these Indian products exported to Europe were blocked at the EU border. Besides, the rest of the products are removed from the market. The European Commission’s Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed says at least 166 products are considered to pose a ‘serious’ risk among Indian food products since the start of 2023. This also includes 9 cases of ethylene oxide in various Indian food products and spices in other European countries including Sweden, Greece and Italy.