After the recent controversy over food spices exported by India, the central government has directed all state administrations to conduct quality testing on spices.
Earlier, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and the Spices Board initiated regular sampling, but neither organization—nor any other government body—has released any official statements regarding the quality of spices.
In Uttarakhand, the state Commissioner of Food Safety, Dr. R Rajesh Kumar, has issued directives to test all food spices produced within the state. Uttarakhand houses over 50 spice manufacturing units.
Continue Exploring: FSSAI launches quality checks on MDH and Everest spice mixes following reports of high ethylene oxide levels
“The commissioner has directed the food safety officials of all 13 districts to make visits to spice manufacturing units & conduct sampling to assess the quality of different spices,” said Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration.
As per a report, the ongoing controversy involving MDH and Everest spice companies has the potential to jeopardize more than half of India’s spice shipments. The report emphasized the urgent need for the country to address the quality issue.
Recently, Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) announced its investigation into contamination allegations concerning spice mixes manufactured by Indian companies MDH and Everest. This scrutiny may prompt a product recall in Australia, mirroring actions taken in Hong Kong and Singapore.
Continue Exploring: Now, Australia examining contamination allegations against MDH and Everest spice mixes, potential recall looms
The controversy over the alleged detection of the carcinogenic chemical ethylene oxide in their products led to a mandatory recall from shelves. According to the report, the main violations in these occurrences were the presence of salmonella contamination, a common bacterial cause of foodborne illness, and ethylene oxide, a carcinogen used as a fumigating agent.
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