The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) recently launched an investigation into alleged norm violations within branded spice products. Now, FSSAI plans to expand its oversight to include other food items such as fortified rice, dairy products, and spices sold in the domestic market.
According to sources, FSSAI also intends to monitor food items such as fruits and vegetables, salmonella in fish products, spices and herbs, fortified rice, and milk and dairy products. They are already collecting samples of powdered spices from all brands, including MDH and Everest, from across the country, as concerns about quality have been raised by Singapore and Hong Kong.
“In view of the current development, the food regulator is gathering samples of spices from all brands to check whether they adhere to regulations,” a source said on April 22.
According to sources, the FSSAI does not oversee the quality of spices meant for export. In a recent development, the Centre for Food Safety (CFS) in Hong Kong advised consumers against purchasing certain spice products, including Madras Curry Powder, Everest Fish Curry Masala, MDH Sambhar Masala Mixed Masala Powder, and MDH Curry Powder Mixed Masala Powder. They also urged traders not to sell these items.
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The CFS reported the discovery of the pesticide ethylene oxide in samples of various pre-packaged spice mixes from two Indian brands.
Following the directive from Hong Kong, the Singapore Food Authority (SFA) has also issued a recall order for ‘Everest Fish Curry Masala’ imported from India.
Last week, the FSSAI announced that it was in the process of collecting samples of Nestle’s Cerelac baby cereal across India following global reports indicating that the company had added higher levels of sugar to the product.
Sources indicate that the FSSAI is conducting extensive nationwide surveillance of various food products to evaluate their compliance with relevant regulations in India.
Over the last few years, there has been a notable surge in the number of samples analyzed, escalating from 107,829 in 2020-21 to over 451,000 in 2023-24, marking a more than threefold increase. In 2020-21, out of the 107,829 samples analyzed, 28,347 were found non-compliant. In 2021-22, 144,345 samples were analyzed, with 32,934 found non-compliant.
In the fiscal year 2022-23, a total of 177,511 samples underwent analysis, with 44,626 found to be non-compliant. In the most recent financial year, 451,296 samples were analyzed.
The rise in the number of cases initiated and convictions reflects the dedicated efforts of the relevant food safety authorities in enforcing the FSS Act of 2006.
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