Center Swung Into Action After Indian Spice Brands Banned In Hong Kong, Singapore

The center government has ordered food commissioners to collect samples of spices from all the manufacturing units in the country, top government sources have said, after food regulators in Hong Kong and Singapore red-flagged cancer-causing ingredients in certain products of two popular Indian spice brands - MDH and Everest.

Hong Kong has banned the sale of popular Indian spice brands MDH Pvt. and Everest Food Products Pvt. after finding they contained a cancer-causing chemical.. Singapore last week took similar action against Everest, alleging the presence of ethylene oxide at levels surpassing permissible limits.

The Centre For Food Safety of The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region announced on April 5 that routine surveillance programs had uncovered the presence of ethylene oxide in three spice mixes from MDH Group - Madras Curry Powder, Sambhar Masala Powder, and Curry Powder.

"The CFS collected the above-mentioned samples from three retail outlets in Tsim Sha Tsui respectively for testing under its routine Food Surveillance Programme. The test results showed that the samples contained a pesticide, ethylene oxide. The CFS has informed the vendors concerned of the irregularities and instructed them to stop the sale and remove from shelves the affected products," it said in a statement. 

In response to the findings, both Hong Kong and Singapore have taken action to protect public health. Singapore, in a parallel move, has also recalled Everest's products from its shelves, citing the presence of pesticides above safe levels.

This is not the first time that an Indian spice brand has faced action abroad. In 2023, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ordered a recall of Everest Food Products after they tested positive for Salmonella.