'If spice makers found guilty, govt will not hesitate to cancel licence'

The government will not hesitate to cancel licences of spice manufacturers if they are found to be flouting the norms for permissible limits for pesticide residue in packed products, a top official told Business Standard on Friday.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), which has 237 testing labs, has collected over 1,500 spice samples from around the country and is currently in the process of testing them for chemicals, microbes, mycotoxins, Sudan dye, and as many as 234 pesticides, including Ethylene Oxide (ETO).

Reports from the tests are expected to come out in 15 days, the official added.

The food regulator, on April 25, had commissioned nationwide quality checks on spices in the market.

This had come after the Centre for Food Safety (CFS) in Hong Kong and the Singapore Food Agency had flagged the presence of ETO in samples of pre-packaged spice mix products of two Indian brands -- MDH and Everest Spices.

“Pesticides like ETO are used for fumigation purposes to aid storage of these products. Ideally, products meant for exports should not be directed to the domestic market,” an FSSAI official had told Business Standard last week.

Sources said the regulator has collected samples from all Indian spices manufacturers. 

In a letter to the Spice Board of India dated Friday, The American Spice Trade Association (ASTA), clarified that the US regulations permit the use of ETO treatment on imported spices and spice products as long as residues adhere to the prescribed limits.

“Prohibiting this critical treatment method has the potential to result in serious unintended implications regarding compliance of Indian spices with US food safety regulations,” states the letter addressed to the Spice Board of India.

The regulator is also in the process of conducting tests on baby food samples. The test reports are expected in the next 15 days, the government official added.

The Ministry of Consumer Affairs and the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) had directed the FSSAI to check the sugar content of baby food after taking note of an investigative report by Swiss NGO Public Eye.

The NGO had alleged that global packaged foods major Nestle added sugar in the form of sucrose or honey in its Nido and Cerelac range sold in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

However, Nestle India had refuted these claims.

“According to the FSSAI, the maximum permissible limit for added sugars is 13.6 gram per 100 gram of feed, while Nestle India is at 7.1 gram of sugar per 100 gram," said Suresh Narayanan, chairman and managing director at Nestle India.

SPICE ROW
 

April 5: Hong Kong’s CFS flags presence of ETO in four spice products by MDH and Everest Spices

April 18: Singapore Food Agency issues notification to recall Everest fish curry masala after finding traces of ETO

April 25: FSSAI commissions nationwide quality checks on spices

May 10: ASTA clarifies usage of ETO for spice imports to US