Ethylene oxide is unfit for human consumption and poses a cancer risk with prolonged exposure.
Hyderabad:
Popular Indian spice brand MDH, under scrutiny for suspected contamination of certain products, has since 2021 seen an average of 14.5% of its shipments to the United States rejected due to the presence of bacteria, according to a Reuters analysis of US regulatory data.
Hong Kong last month suspended the sale of three spice blends made by MDH and one by another Indian company, Everest, because they apparently contained high levels of a carcinogenic pesticide. Ethylene oxide is unfit for human consumption and poses a cancer risk with prolonged exposure.
The companies said their products were safe and MDH added that it does not use ethylene oxide at any stage of spice storage, processing or packaging. American, Australian and Indian authorities are looking into the issue. Both brands are popular in India and exported worldwide.
India is the world’s largest producer of spices and is also the largest consumer and exporter of spices. Zion Market Research estimates that India’s domestic market was worth $10.44 billion in 2022, and the Spices Board said India exported products worth $4 billion in 2022-23.
Before the latest review, products from MDH, a more than 100-year-old Indian family business, had been refused sale in the United States due to the presence of salmonella, a bacteria that can cause gastrointestinal illness.
About 20%, or 13 of 65 MDH shipments to the United States, were rejected after failing salmonella checks between October 2023 – the start date of the current fiscal year – and May 3, according to the latest available data compiled by Reuters from US Food. and Drug Administration (FDA).
The FDA did not say how much was in each shipment, but the 13 rejected shipments included spice and seasoning blends, as well as fenugreek, the data showed.
During FY 2022-23, around 15 percent of 119 MDH shipments were rejected, mainly due to salmonella contamination, while rejections stood at 8.19 percent during 2021-22 , according to the data.
Everest has seen fewer rejections in the United States, with only one of 450 expeditions in the current 2023-2024 year rejected so far for salmonella.
About 3.7% of U.S. Everest expeditions were halted in 2022-2023 and there were no refusals among the 189 expeditions to the United States the previous year, the data showed.
In response to questions about the FDA data, an MDH spokesperson said its products are safe. Everest said it recorded an “exceptional” rejection rate from its U.S. shipments of less than 1% in the 2023-2024 fiscal year, adding that its products were safe.
The US FDA and the Spices Board did not respond to requests for comment. The Council has inspected the MDH and Everest facilities for compliance with quality standards, but the results have not yet been made public.
For decades, MDH and Everest have been among the largest spice manufacturers in India, producing products widely used in home kitchens and restaurants to flavor curries and many dishes.
In 2019, a few batches of MDH’s spice blend were removed from shelves in the United States due to salmonella contamination and in 2023, the FDA recalled a few Everest products due to similar findings and has issued a public health alert.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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