Introduction

According to reports, 111 spice companies had their manufacturing licenses revoked by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). These manufacturers have been asked by the authorities to stop producing immediately.

The action was taken in response to the discovery of ethylene oxide levels over the permissible limit in spice samples from well-known Indian brands, including MDH, Everest, Badshah, and Catch.

The FSSAI will keep examining about 4,000 samples across India, and if necessary, it will suspend other licenses in addition to the 111 it has already revoked.

What does the report say?

Most of the permits that have been withdrawn, according to sources, are from small-scale spice growers in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Maharashtra are also being investigated by the authority.

Spice brands MDH, Everest, Gajanand, Shyam, and Sheeba Taza were deemed unsafe for consumption in Rajasthan in June of this year due to their failure to pass quality tests carried out as part of the state’s campaign against food adulteration by the Rajasthan health department.

Bottom Line

According to tests, imidacloprid, thiamethoxam, and acetamiprid were present in MDH’s garam masala. However, MDH’s chana masala and vegetable masala contained profenofos and tricyclazole.

Acetamiprid was present in Shyam’s garam masala, thiamethoxam and acetamiprid in Sheeba Taza’s raita masala, azoxystrobin and thiamethoxamand in Everest’s cumin masala, and ethion in Gajanand’s pickle masala.

The pesticide and insecticide levels in the spices were also discovered by the health department to be far greater than the allowable limits, which could indicate a serious health risk.

Source: TOI