In April 2024, Singapore and Hong Kong halted sales of some spices produced by Indian companies MDH and Everest over suspected elevated levels of ethylene oxide, a cancer-causing pesticide.
In April 2024, the Singapore Food Agency and Hong Kong's Center for Food Safety banned two companies' curry powders which were found to contain ethylene oxide. Following this, Maldives was the third country to ban their products.[1][2]
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was also investigating them.[1] The European Union (EU) has raised concerns of its own.[3] Bangladesh and Australian food regulators have also launched investigations.[4]
References
edit- ^ a b "MDH and Everest: US health officials probe Indian spice mix pesticide claims". 2024-04-27. Retrieved 2024-05-15.
- ^ "Maldives bans Indian spice brands Everest and MDH over claims of cancer-causing pesticide". Business Today. 2024-04-28. Retrieved 2024-05-15.
- ^ European Food Safety Authority (EFSA); Carrasco Cabrera, Luis; Di Piazza, Giulio; Dujardin, Bruno; Marchese, Emanuela; Medina Pastor, Paula (April 2024). "The 2022 European Union report on pesticide residues in food". EFSA Journal. 22 (4): e8753. doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2024.8753. PMC 11036314. PMID 38655191.
- ^ "MDH and Everest: Indian spices face heat over global safety concerns". 2024-05-14. Retrieved 2024-05-15.