In a recent update to the ongoing spice row, Rajasthan’s food safety department declared that they found certain spices of the popular brands MDH and Everest “unsafe” for consumption. As per a recent report in Reuters, the state made the declaration to the federal government after performing quality tests in laboratories. The report further states that in a private letter to the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), Rajasthan’s additional chief secretary for health Shubhra Singh informed that they checked samples of many spices and found a batch of Everest spice mix and two of MDH’s unsafe.
Shubhra Singh, in the letter, also urged the state authorities of Gujarat and Haryana, where the MDH and Everest batches were made, to “take action in the matter without delay.” The letter, as Reuters reports, had no details of the findings. However, Rajasthan state authorities earlier said in a statement that they seized 12,000 kgs of various spices for alleged contamination. Some of these spices, as per the statement, contained “very high levels” of pesticides and insecticides. Neither FSSAI nor Shubhra Singh made any further comment in regard to the matter till now.
Also Read: Indian Spice Brands Row : Food Authority To Check Quality Of Spices Sold In India
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For the uninitiated, MDH and Everest are two of the most popular Indian spice brands sold in the foreign market. However, they came under the radar after Hong Kong informed that they suspended the sale of some of the spices of these two brands, alleging a high amount of a cancer-causing pesticide ethylene oxide in them. This further triggered scrutiny by regulators in India and other markets.
Also Read: Spice Row: Food Authority Finds No Trace Of Toxins In MDH, Everest Spice Samples
According to the Reuters report, when asked about the Rajasthan government’s findings, Everest said in an email they do not “add any pesticides to spices during any stage of manufacturing and packing.” MDH hasn’t responded to this matter yet.
