Indian spices row: India has taken several steps to prevent the effect of carcinogenic chemical ETO (ethylene oxide) in the spices exported from it. Actually, presence of ethylene oxide was found in some spices of Indian brands MDH and Everest. Due to this, some products of both Indian masala brands were banned in Singapore and Hong Kong. Along with this, advisory has also been issued for the customers.
what did the government say
Amardeep Singh Bhatia, Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Commerce of the Central Government, said – Spices Board has taken steps to ensure the safety and quality of Indian spice exports in these areas. The Board has made it mandatory to test such export consignments sent to these two countries. A techno-scientific committee has also conducted root cause analysis, inspected processing facilities, and collected samples for testing at accredited laboratories.
Deadline set, standard proposed
He said that following the recommendations of the committee, mandatory sampling and testing of ethylene oxide residues has been implemented for all spice consignments to Singapore and Hong Kong from May 7, 2024. Guidelines for ethylene oxide solution have also been reiterated for all exporters. He said India has also taken up the matter with the Codex Committee to fix the limit on the use of ethylene oxide as different countries have different limits. Furthermore there is no standard for EtO testing. India has proposed for this.
Spice export 4.25 billion dollars
India’s spice exports in the year 2023-24 totaled $4.25 billion, which is 12 percent of the global spice exports. Major spices exported from India include chilli powder, which tops the list with exports worth $1.3 billion. After this, cumin worth 55 crore dollars, turmeric 22 crore dollars, cardamom 13 crore dollars, mixed spices 11 crore dollars etc. are included. Other exported spices are asafoetida, saffron, fennel, nutmeg, mace, cloves and cinnamon.
