A letter reveals that the state of Rajasthan in India has informed the federal government about discovering certain spices from well-known brands MDH and Everest being deemed “unsafe” for consumption following tests.
This finding has further intensified the domestic and international survey surrounding these brands due to supposed contamination concerns.
According to a private letter from senior health official Shubhra Singh to the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), Rajasthan has tested samples of various spices and deemed a batch of Everest spice mix and two from MDH as unsafe, Reuters reported on Thursday.
In April, Hong Kong stops the sale of three spice blends from MDH and one from Everest due to high levels of the cancer-causing pesticide ethylene oxide. This action has brought about regulators in India and other markets to investigate further.
Singapore has also initiated a recall of the Everest mix. New Zealand, the United States, and Australia have all announced that they are investigating the matter.
Additionally, Britain has implemented stricter regulations on all spices coming from India, which is the largest exporter, producer, and consumer of spices globally.
Singh, the additional chief secretary for health, wrote in a letter that has been seen by Reuters, driving the state authorities of Gujarat and Haryana, where the MDH and Everest batches were produced, to quickly address the issue.
Requests for comment from the FSSAI and Singh went unanswered. Although the letter did not specify its conclusions, Rajasthan state officials announced last week that they had confiscated 12,000 kilograms of different spices due to suspected contamination. Singh had sent letters notifying both the federal agency and the states about this issue.
The statements mentioned that Rajasthan gathered numerous samples of spices in May and discovered that some of them had a “very high level” of pesticides and insecticides.
Date : Sunday, 23 June 2023 Time : 10 AM to 05 PM
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