EU team to inspect guargum stocks

Guargum exporters fear that the country will lose its export business to neighbour Pakistan if the team of experts from the European Union (EU), who will visit India on September 3, finds any traces of dioxin and pentachlorophenol in the stock.

Countries from the European Union import 20,000 tonnes of guargum from India every year.

Mahendra Bhanushali, president, Gujarat Guargum Manufacturers' Association, said, "A team of experts from the EU will visit India on September 3 to test guargum samples and to inspect the testing facilities of major Indian guargum manufacturers.

"The team has been invited by the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA). APEDA invited this team in reply to a notification issued by the European Commission (EC) after traces of dioxin and pentachlorophenol were found in some of the food items made using guargum exported from India."

"If the EU expert team finds any traces of dioxin and pentachlorophenol in any of the samples tested, it will result into a loss of 20,000 tonnes of guargum exports annually. India's loss may directly result into a gain for Pakistan as it is the only other exporter of guargum after India," he added.

On July 30, Swiss firm Unipektin AG had recalled many batches of food additives containing guargum sent by India Glycols.

The company had found traces of dioxin and pentachlorophenol, the carcinogenic chemicals from the samples tested. Unipektin AG supplies guargum products to EU markets.

Following this, food safety experts from the EC had sounded an alert in the continent to be wary of guargum imports from India. Following this, nine EU countries, including Switzerland, Hungary, Romania and Finland, had recalled batches of their products from the markets.

"Exports to the EU countries have come to a standstill following this alert. No more shipments are heading towards EU from India. No new contracts are also being signed between Indian exporters and EU importers. If the team finds traces of toxins from the samples they test in India, then this is likely to result into a long time scare in the EU," said a Jodhpur-based guargum manufacturer and exporter who did not wish to be named.

"However, this does not mean that the guargum from all Indian manufacturers contain toxins," he added.

"Guargum from Gujarat and Rajasthan is free of any kinds of toxins as the beans are organically grown in these two states. Farmers here don't use any pesticides or chemical-based fertilisers.

"The samples, which were found with toxins, may have come from the other states. APEDA is supporting us on this issue," said Bhanushali and added that the issue has not affected the domestic prices of guarseeds or guargum in any major way.

India supplies 80 per cent of world demand of guargum and its exports on an average stands at 1.75 lakh million tonnes every year. During 2006-07, India had exported guargum worth Rs 1300 crore mainly to the US and Europe.