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From our correspondent
NEW DELHI – Despite the almost total indifference of the Indian pressthe story of spices contaminated with pesticides continues to provide new developments. The last one concerns the State of Rajasthan which in a letter sent to the central government in recent days defined «not safe» some blends marketed by two of the major – and for some months, controversial – Indian players in the sector.
Mdh and Everestthese are the names of the two companies, are grappling with a serious crisis of credibility after the authorities of Hong Kong And Singapore have ordered the withdrawal of some of their products from the market, after finding traces of ethylene oxide, a gas originally used for the sterilization of surgical instruments and which, evidently, is also used in the agricultural sector in India. Exposure to ethylene oxide is associated with an increased risk of various forms of canceramong which lymphomas And leukemias. The ability of this substance to damage the DNA makes it particularly dangerous, both in the short and long term.
There letter sent by the Rajasthan authorities to New Delhi it does not specify which products are contaminated and by what, but they are two types of spices under the Mdh brand and one under the Everest brand, almost as highlighted in Hong Kong and Singapore, where the products banned were three and one respectively. Of the two companies, Mdh is the more problematic also because in the last six months the Food and Drug Administration Americana rejected 31% of its products due to the finding of traces of salmonella.
In recent weeks, authorities in Rajasthan have examined samples of dozens of spices and found levels of pesticides And insecticides “very high” and therefore arranged the seizure of 12 tons of products and asked the StatesHaryana he was born in Gujaratwhere the two manufacturers are based, to intervene.
