The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is collecting information on products of Indian spice makers MDH and Everest after Hong Kong banned the sales of some of their products for allegedly containing toxic levels of a cancer-causing pesticide.
This was as Hong Kongs had earlier this month, halted sales of three MDH spice blends and an Everest spice mix for fish curries.
Singapore had ordered a recall of the Everest spice mix as well, stating that it contained high levels of ethylene oxide (a chemical unfit for human consumption) and a cancer risk with long-time exposure.
Meanwhile, Everest had previously announced that its spices were safe for consumption but MDH has yet to respond to queries about its products so far.
MDH and Everest spices are one of the most popular spice brands in India and they are also sold in Europe, Asia and North America.
India’s food regulator, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), has begun checking the quality standards of the two companies, after the recent development in Hong Kong and Singapore.
India’s Spices Board, which is the government’s regulator for spice exports, had revealed on Wednesday that it had sought data on MDH and Everest exports from authorities in Hong Kong and Singapore, and was now actively working with the companies to determine the “root cause” of the quality issues as inspections commenced at their plants.
Back in 2019, a few batches of MDH’s products had been recalled in the U.S for salmonella contamination.
