Recently, Indian spice exports have been under the scanner. On 5th April, Centre for Food Safety (CFS), published a report stating that some Indian spice products have a cancer causing chemical – ethylene oxide – in them. The report mentioned three spice products from two major Indian brands, MDH and Everest. The spices include Madras Curry Powder, Sambhar Masala and Curry Powder from MDH and Fish Curry Masala from Everest.
After Singapore and Hong Kong, Maldives has banned the sale of MDH and Everest in the country. Australia’s food safety authority has announced that they are gathering data to see if the brands are selling contaminated food. If proven, it may result in another ban and recall. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced a similar investigation.
The troubles for Indian spice exports are not recent. In 2019, MDH products were recalled in USA due to salmonella contamination. Everest spices were recalled in 2023 for similar issue. European Union’s food safety authorities have found cancer causing chemicals in 527 food products originating in India.
India has traditionally been seen the home of spices. Indian spices have been an aspirational product globally over centuries. While a few unfortunate incidents will not tarnish that image, unless accountability is fixed and corrective action is taken, we will soon learn that global trade in the information era can be very sensitive.
So far, the action taken is far from satisfactory. The brands have denied presence of any contaminant in their spices. This knee jerk reaction won’t help. The Spices Board has issued a set of guidelines for exporters to prevent further Ethylene Oxide (ETO) contamination in spices. While this is welcome, the damage has already been done.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India has ordered testing of all spice brands across the nation. But in a surprising move, it has also increased the MRL (maximum residue limit) for a pesticide in herbs and spices to 0.1mg/kg from the previous 0.01mg/kg. After a backlash from experts, FSSAI has clarified that ‘limit was increased to 0.1 mg/kg only in cases of spices and is applicable only for those pesticides which are not registered in India by CIB & RC.’
Food safety is not an issue that should concern only exporters. The Indian domestic market needs a testing and regulatory ecosystem that is as stringent as those of the developed nations. But here are a few issues that still need addressing.
1. Have we identified where most of the contaminants come from? There is a clear need to identify which issues are agriculture related and which come from food processing.
2. Developed nations often have standards that are hard to meet by farmers in developing nations. The issue is much deeper than corporate malpractice and greed that few are making it out to be. High yield oriented agricultural systems take time to upgrade to sustainable practices.
3. India has a strong input industry which is geared towards driving more sales. Sustainability, soil health and food safety are not issues of immediate concern to them. But regulatory framework should be put in place to reduce input usage.
4. Should we have two different standards for the domestic and export market? Definitely not. The issue is current food standards regulator in India is both understaffed and underfunded. That needs to change.
5. Food security is of much larger and graver importance in India and we are far from ensuring food security for all. While food safety has not been discussed with equal intensity, our budgetary allocation has failed to keep the momentum too. For example, budgetary allocation for FSSAI in 2022-23 is less than the allocation in 2019-20.
6. The producer and consumer trust ecosystem needs an overhaul. Responsible brands feel that the consumers are not ready to pay more for quality produce. Consumers, on the other hand, have seen organic brands and certification organisations themselves fail the promise during product testing. Traceability is not enough, easy access to testing tools and a culture of stringent testing needs to be put in place.
7. In India, organic implies that the farmer has followed a set of agricultural practices. It doesn’t guarantee that the produce is organic. Contaminants can come from the soil or post-harvest treatment too. Consumers don’t know this and, in effect, the tag of organic doesn’t mean as much.
No matter what the outcome of the spice episode is, long term processes and practices have to be put in place to ensure food safety, not just food security. The farmer, the consumer and the brand that is India on the global stage – all need to be protected.
