India’s government Spices Board has launched factory inspections at two major companies following bans imposed overseas over accusations that some products were contaminated with pesticides, media reported Tuesday.
India is a key producer of spices, accounting for about 12 percent of global exports, totaling $4.25 billion last year, according to the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI).
The Spices Board of India has launched checks at the processing plants of popular producers MDH and Everest – which together account for more than a quarter of the Indian market – to ensure they meet global standards, the Economic reported Times.
Both companies deny that their spices pose a health risk, and MDH said last month that the claims were “false and lacking any supporting evidence.”
Last week, Nepal became the latest jurisdiction to impose bans on the import and sale of certain spice products from both brands, following restrictions imposed by Hong Kong and Singapore.
Restrictions were imposed after tests detected the presence of ethylene oxide, according to media reports.
In addition to its use as a pesticide, ethylene oxide is used as a sterilizing agent in spices to prevent illnesses caused by salmonella and E.coli bacteria.
Regular exposure to this colorless, odorless compound increases the “risk of white blood cell cancer,” according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
There was no immediate response from the Spices Council and media reports did not say exactly when factory checks began.
But the reported checks come after the council earlier this month ordered exporters to “test raw materials, processing aids, packaging materials and finished products” for carbon oxide contamination. ethylene.
He urged producers to avoid using ethylene oxide for sterilization and adopt “alternative methods,” including steam.
Major importers, including Australia, Britain and the United States, have also requested additional information or are considering additional quality control measures, Indian media reported.
Earlier this month, research body GTRI warned that if top importer China did the same, Indian spice exports “could see a dramatic slowdown.”
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