US health officials investigate alleged pesticide contamination in India spices mix

• Everest has previously stated its products are safe for consumption.
• Singapore has also issued a recall for the Everest mix used in fish curries due to alleged cancer risk.
• India’s Spices Board is gathering information on both companies’ exports in Hong Kong and Singapore.

The US Food and Drug Administration is investigating products made by two Indian spice makers for allegedly containing a cancer-causing pesticide. Earlier this month, Hong Kong suspended sales of three spice mixes made by MDH and another by Everest over alleged high levels of ethylene oxide.

MDH and Everest products, widely popular in India and worldwide, are under scrutiny. Everest has previously stated that its products are safe for consumption, while MDH has not provided any comment on the matter.

“The FDA is aware of the reports and is gathering additional information about the situation,” an FDA spokesperson told Reuters news agency.

Singapore has also issued a recall for the Everest mix used in fish curries, citing the alleged high levels of ethylene oxide as posing a cancer risk.

Earlier this week, India’s Spices Board, the government’s regulator for spice exports, announced that it was gathering information on both companies’ exports in Hong Kong and Singapore. The board is actively collaborating with authorities in both regions to investigate the “root cause” of the quality issues as inspections commence at their plants.

Both companies’ websites were offline on Saturday.

Ethylene oxide, a chemical used for various purposes in industry, including as a fumigating agent for spices, is classified as carcinogenic to humans by the US Environmental Protection Agency.

“Evidence in humans indicates that exposure to ethylene oxide increases the risk of lymphoid cancer and, for females, breast cancer,” the EPA wrote in 2018.

The BBC has reached out to MDH and Everest for comment.

In 2019, concerns over salmonella contamination led to the recall of a few batches of MDH products in the US.

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