The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has not found any trace of ethylene oxide in samples of spices from two major brands, MDH and Everest.
The samples were tested in 28 accredited laboratories. Reports from six other laboratories are still pending.
Last month, due to quality concerns raised by Hong Kong and Singapore, FSSAI started taking spices in powder form samples from all brands, including MDH and Everest, across the country.
The Center for Food Safety (CFS) in Hong Kong had advised consumers not to purchase certain spice mix products of MDH and Everest, citing the presence of ethylene oxide beyond the permissible limit.
These products are MDH's Madras Curry Powder, Everest Fish Curry Masala, MDH Sambhar Masala Mixed Masala Powder, and MDH Curry Powder Mixed Masala Powder.
According to sources, a pan-India drive was initiated on April 22 by all the commissioners of food safety of states and Union Territories and the regional directors of FSSAI.
It included extensive inspections of the spice manufacturing units and sampling and testing products manufactured for sale and distribution in the domestic market.
Sources said the samples of Everest spices were picked up from their two manufacturing facilities. They said that FSSAI had lifted as many as 25 samples from MDH from their 11 manufacturing facilities.
Each product sampled was analysed for compliance with various quality and safety parameters, including pesticide residues. These samples were also analysed for Ethylene Oxide (ETO) at NABL-accredited laboratories notified by FSSAI.
According to sources, the scientific panel at FSSAI examined the laboratory reports received so far and found no traces of ethylene oxide in the samples.
Additionally, the scientific panel examined test reports of over 300 samples of spices from other brands, and these reports also conclusively indicated no presence of ethylene oxide, they added.
The scientific panel comprises eminent scientists from the Spice Board, CSMCRI (Gujarat), Indian Spice Research Institute (Kerala), NIFTEM (Haryana), BARC (Mumbai), CMPAP (Lucknow), DRDO (Assam), ICAR, National Research Centre on Grapes, (Pune).
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