Carcinogenic spices, India (finally) opens an investigation
India investigates carcinogenic substances in spices after ban in Hong Kong and Singapore
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From our correspondent
NEW DELHI
After several days of embarrassed - and embarrassing - silence, India's food safety authorities have announced that they will conduct tests and inspections in the spice industry to check for carcinogens in end products. The decision by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (Fssai) comes after four popular spice blends produced by two of India's major industry players - Mdh and Everest - were banned in Hong Kong and Singapore. Authorities in the two city-states detected the presence ofethylene oxide, a gas originally used for sterilising surgical instruments and evidently also used in the agricultural sector in India.
Exposure to ethylene oxide is associated with an increased risk of various forms of cancer, including lymphomas and leukaemias. 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) detected the presence of carcinogenic chemicals in 527 Indian food products. In Europe, the use of ethylene oxide is banned in the food industry and the detection of the substance led to the rejection of 87 shipments and the removal from the market of numerous products with a high prevalence of sesame and dried fruit. Of the 527 outlawed samples, as many as 332 indicated India as the only place of origin, while the others cited at least one other country.
