India asks int'l committee to set limits on ethylene oxide in spices

India has asked an international committee on spices to set limits on the use of ethylene oxide in spices, a senior government official said on Wednesday, amid a sales ban on two popular Indian brands.

The Kerala-based Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs (CCSCH) has been established under Codex Alimentarius Committee, Rome – the international organisation - for developing international food standards, guidelines and codes of practice to protect the health of consumers and ensuring fair practices in the trade.

Ethylene oxide is generally used as a disinfectant, sterilising agent, as well as an insecticide to reduce microbial contamination in spices. However, its use is considered carcinogenic, beyond permissible limits. Different countries have different limits for the usage of ethylene oxide in spices. Therefore, India has also proposed finalising standards for ethylene oxide testing.

Spices Board India has taken steps to ensure the safety and quality of Indian spice exports to these regions. The development comes in the backdrop of Indian companies Everest and MDH coming under scrutiny. Singapore and Hong Kong halted sales of some spices produced by MDH and Everest for allegedly containing elevated levels of ethylene oxide, a cancer-causing pesticide.

“The Spices Board organised a stakeholder consultation involving over 130 exporters and associations, such as the All India Spices Exporters Forum and the Indian Spice and Foodstuff Exporters' Association. A Techno-Scientific Committee conducted a root cause analysis, inspected processing facilities, and collected samples for testing in accredited labs,” the official said.

“In response to the committee's recommendations, mandatory sampling and testing for residues have been implemented for all spice shipments to Singapore and Hong Kong starting May 7, 2024,” he said, adding that guidelines for ethylene oxide treatment have also been reiterated to all exporters.

China Dumping

India has a strong institutional mechanism to prevent the dumping of goods from China, a senior government official said on Wednesday, a day after the United States slapped new tariffs on a host of Chinese goods, including electric vehicles and batteries.

“We have our DGTR system, we have our effective anti-dumping system. So, in case somebody wants to dump it, we have all the institutional mechanisms to look at it. We will do that accordingly,” the official said.

The official also said countries wanted to cut down their dependency on China, particularly for important sectors like mobility, by enhancing their capacities, and the same policy is being followed by India.