When it comes to savoury dishes, spice mixes play a key role. These spices are not just helpful in making the dishes tastier, but are rich in nutrients too. But, what if you get to know that those packaged spices can cause cancer too? Yes you read it right. Scroll down to read the details.
As per reports, after Singapore, now Hong Kong has also banned the sale of popular Indian spice brands MDH Pvt. and Everest Food Products Pvt. after the alleged detection of the carcinogenic pesticide ethylene oxide in several spice mixes.
For the unversed, last week Singapore took similar action against Everest, alleging the presence of ethylene oxide at levels surpassing permissible limits.
As the Centre For Food Safety of The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region announced on April 5 it was found that many spices had the presence of ethylene oxide in three spice mixes from MDH Group – Madras Curry Powder, Sambhar Masala Powder, and Curry Powder.
These countries have banned the sale of MDH and Everest masalas
“The CFS collected the above-mentioned samples from three retail outlets in Tsim Sha Tsui respectively for testing under its routine Food Surveillance Programme. The test results showed that the samples contained a pesticide, ethylene oxide. The CFS has informed the vendors concerned of the irregularities and instructed them to stop sale and remove from shelves the affected products,” it said in a statement.
Also, the report states that Everest Group’s Fish Curry Masala was found to contain the pesticide.
For the unversed, Ethylene oxide is classified as a Group 1 carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, which poses serious health risks, including an elevated risk of breast cancer.
As per the online reports, this is not the first time that an Indian spice brand has faced action abroad. In 2023, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ordered a recall of Everest Food Products after they tested positive for Salmonella.