Hong Kong Bans Sale Of Indian Brands MDH And Everest Spices

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New Delhi: Hong Kong’s Center for Food Safety (CFS) has taken action against well known brands of India, MDH and Everest. This comes after alleged detection of carcinogenic pesticide ethylene oxide in several spice mixes. Singapore has also taken action against Everest last week claiming that they have presence of ethylene oxide levels which exceeds the permissible limits.

The Centre For Food Safety of Hong Kong Government Administrative Region announced on April 5 that they have detected ethylene oxide which is a pesticide classified as carcinogen in three of the MDH products which includes Madras Curry Powder, Sambhar Masala Powder, and Curry Powder. ()

"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. ()

The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) had previously recalled India’s ‘Everest fish curry masala’ because of the presence of ethylene oxide. Ethylene oxide is a pesticide which is not authorized for use in food, exceeding permissible limits. Buyers were advised not to use it.

While consuming food with small amounts of ethylene oxide isn't immediately harmful it can lead to health issues over time. Therefore, it's advisable for people to minimize their exposure to this substance as much as possible.