Nearly 12% of Indian-tested spices failed to fulfill the Food Safety and criteria Authority of India’s (FSSAI) quality and safety criteria after numerous nations took action due to contamination issues in two well-known brands.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India carried out examinations, sampling, and testing of mixed spice blends after the cancellation of sales of certain MDH and Everest brand spice mixes in Hong Kong in April due to high level pesticides.
474 out of 4,054 samples tested between May and early July did not match the quality and safety requirements, as per the FSSAI statistics, according to the RTI response quoted in the news report.
Britain then tightened controls on all spice imports from India, while New Zealand, the United States and Australia have said they were looking into issues related to the brands.
In a statement, the safety agency informed Reuters that while it did not find any breakdowns by brand of the spices it had tested, it was pursuing the appropriate legal measures against the companies in question.
Without providing further details, it stated, “Action on non-conforming samples has been taken as stipulated,” referring to the applicable penalties under Indian law.
Indian brands like MDH and Everest are amongst the most popular in India, which is also the world’s biggest exporter, producer, and consumer of spices.
Both the brands have said their products are safe for consumption.
India is largest spice exporter in the world. India’s domestic spice market was valued at $10.44 billion in 2022, according to Zion Market Research.
Its exports of spices and spice products were a record $4.46 billion in the financial year that ended in March.
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