New Delhi: The Indian government has ordered food commissioners to gather samples of every spice from all of the nation’s manufacturing facilities. This comes after a cancer-causing chemical was discovered in several products of two well-known Indian spice brands by food inspectors in Singapore and Hong Kong.
Top government sources were quoted in an NDTV report stating that all food commissioners around the country have been alerted. They mentioned that the process of collecting samples of the spices had started and orders had been given. They added that in three to four days samples will be collected from all the spice manufacturing units of the two popular Indian spice brands-MDH and Everest. Government sources also said that the report will come from the lab in 20 days.
Food regulators in Singapore and Hong Kong have issued advisories to consumers not to use four products from these two spice companies due to possible ethylene oxide presence at levels over allowable limits. The International Agency for Research on Cancer has categorized ethylene oxide as a ‘Group 1 carcinogen’.
The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) in Hong Kong stated on April 5 that Everest’s Fish Curry Masala and three spice products made by the MDH—Madras Curry Powder (spice blend for Madras Curry), Sambhar Masala (mixed Masala Powder), and Curry Powder (mixed Masala Powder)—contain “a pesticide, ethylene oxide.” The regulator has given the suppliers orders to halt sales and take the impacted products from the stores.
A recall of Everest’s Fish Curry Masala was also mandated by the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) in the interim because of ethylene oxide levels that were higher than allowed. On April 18, the SFA said via a press release on its website that it had ordered the importer Sp Muthiah & Sons Pte. Ltd. to recall the goods, and that recall was still underway.
The use of ethylene oxide in food items is banned in India. There is also strict action if harmful substances are found in Indian spices. The government has appealed to the Spice Board under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to spread awareness that no harmful material should be added to the products.
What Is Ethylene Oxide?
The spices board has defined ethylene oxide as a ” flammable, colourless gas at temperatures above 10.7 Celsius. It serves as a “disinfectant, fumigant, sterilising agent and insecticide”. It is mainly used to sterilise medical equipment and to reduce microbial contamination in spices. Besides being produced from natural sources, it can also be generated from water-logged soil, manure, and sewage sludge.
Health Effects Of Ethylene Oxide
The World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classifies ethylene oxide as a Group 1 carcinogen’, meaning that it has enough evidence to conclude that it can cause Cancer in humans. Short-term exposure to carcinogens can affect the human Central nervous system and cause depression or irritation of the eyes, skin, ears, nose, throat, and lungs, and damage the brain and nervous system as per the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
