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The United States customs authorities have rejected 31 per cent of all spice-related shipments from Mahashian Di Hatti (MDH) allegedly due to salmonella contamination concerns over the last six months.
It comes at a time when Indian spice mixes are under greater scrutiny in some other countries. Hong Kong and Singapore recently suspended the sales of certain MDH and Everest Food Products.
Since October 2023, a total of 11 shipments comprising nearly one-third of all MDH shipments containing items categorised as “spices, flavours, and salts” have been rejected, an Indian Express report said.
And data suggests that the rejection rate has doubled. Data obtained from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) indicates that during the period between October 2022 and September 2023, the refusal rate was 15 per cent. Additionally, according to the data, every MDH export shipment declined since October 2020 was due to salmonella contamination. Salmonella, when ingested, can lead to a severe stomach infection affecting the intestinal tract if food is not adequately cooked.
Upon physical inspection of the MDH’s manufacturing plant in January 2022, the FDA noted that the “plant did not have adequate sanitary facilities and accommodations'”. It had also observed that the plant’s “equipment and utensils were not designed and constructed to be adequately cleaned or maintained to protect against contamination”.
During the current US federal fiscal year (October 2023 to September 2024), 0.3 per cent of all Everest export shipments have been rejected, compared to 3 per cent in the preceding fiscal year. In absolute terms, five shipments have declined since October 2023. The refusals primarily stemmed from violations related to labeling, the newspaper reported.
Overall, between US fiscal years 2021 to 2023, around 10 per cent of all rejected human food shipments from India fell into the “spices, flavours, and salts” category, ranking second only to “miscellaneous food-related items,” which constituted 31 per cent of all refusals. “Snack food items” and “bakery products” experienced refusal rates of 9 per cent and 7 per cent, respectively.
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According to the guidelines by the FDA, if a shipment is refused entry, the importer can either destroy it or export it out of the US.
During US FY23, shipments exported under the category of “spices, flavours, and salts” by Ahmedabad-based Ramdev Food Products Private Limited experienced a refusal rate of 2 per cent, which has risen to 3 per cent in the current FY24.
More than half of these refusals were attributed to salmonella contamination. Likewise, the export of spices by MTR Foods Private Limited saw a refusal rate of 1 per cent in FY23, which has persisted in the ongoing FY24, largely due to salmonella contamination as well.
