Carcinogenic spices, India (finally) opens an investigation

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From our correspondent

NEW DELHI

After several days of embarrassed – and embarrassing – silence, the Indian authorities responsible for monitoring food safety have announced that they will conduct tests and inspections in the spice industry to verify the presence of carcinogenic substances in the final products. The decision of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (Fssai) It comes following four popular spice blends produced by two major Indian players in the industry – MDH and Everest – were banned in Hong Kong and Singapore. The authorities of the two city states have identified the presence of ethylene oxidea gas originally used for the sterilization of surgical instruments and which, evidently, is also used in the agricultural sector in India.

Exposure toethylene oxide it is associated with an increased risk of various forms of cancer, including lymphomas and leukemias. The ability of this substance to damage DNA makes it particularly dangerous, both in the short and long term.

527 Indian food products at risk

The outbreak of the case on the two Asian markets brought to light the news that between September 2020 and last April the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) identified the presence of carcinogenic chemicals in 527 Indian food products. In Europe, the use of ethylene oxide is prohibited in the food industry and the identification of the substance led to the rejection of 87 shipments and the removal from the market of numerous products with a strong prevalence of sesame and dried fruit. Of the 527 illegal samples, 332 indicated India as the only place of origin, while the others cited at least one other country.