The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has announced that it didn’t find ethylene oxide (ETO), a cancer-causing chemical, in Everest and MDH products’ samples.
Last month, FSSAI began taking samples of spices in powder form of all brands, including MDH and Everest, from across the country in view of quality concerns flagged by Hong Kong and Singapore. The Hong Kong’s Center for Food Safety (CFS) requested consumers not to buy certain spice mix products of MDH and Everest, citing the presence of ethylene oxide beyond the permissible limit in their items. These products were MDH’s Madras Curry Powder, Everest Fish Curry Masala, MDH Sambhar Masala Mixed Masala Powder, and MDH Curry Powder Mixed Masala Powder.
After the Hong Kong authority recalled the products, FSSAI launched a nationwide inspection drive on April 22 which involved all state and union territory food safety commissioners and regional directors. It collected 34 samples of Everest and MDH spices for testing: 9 from Everest’s facilities in Maharashtra and Gujarat, and 25 from those of MDH’s facilities in Delhi, Haryana and Rajasthan.
This inspection drive included extensive inspections of the spice manufacturing units as well as sampling and testing of products manufactured for sale & distribution for consumption in domestic markets. As per sources, they also tested the products on various other parameters, including moisture content, insect and rodent contamination, pesticide residues, and heavy metals, among others.
The samples were tested for ethylene oxide at NABL-accredited laboratories. Reports indicate that the body has received reports from 28 laboratories so far, though reports from 6 others are pending.
The food regulator’s Scientific Panel analyzed the available spice samples and found that the chemical was absent in them. The panel also supposedly analyzed test reports of 300 more spice samples of other brands, but didn’t find traces of the cancer-causing substance in them, either.
However, several social media users have expressed skepticism of these findings, which they deemed too convenient for both FSSAI and the targeted brands in question.
“I have more trust on Singapore and Hong Kong food regulation authorities than FSSAI,” one user wrote. “Crookedness me best FSSAI aur Everest,” another commented wryly. Some also expressed criticisms for their belief that FSSAI and the brands were motivated by their own materialistic gains rather than welfare: “I guess our collective lives don’t matter as much as their profits.”
Some users also raised questions about how the findings could have been so different in India compared to other countries. “Does that mean MDH and Everest are selling different products in India and different products in another countries?” a user asked.
This is not the first time that an Indian spice brand has faced action and criticism abroad. For example, in 2023, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ordered a recall of Everest Food Products after they tested positive for Salmonella.
