FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) in its statement dismissed claims that it has permitted high pesticide residue in Indian herbs and spices and concluded the claims of the reports to be “false and malicious.” This statement was in response to a claim that FSSAI allows 10 times more pesticide residue in herbs and spices than recommended.
“It is clarified that India has one of the most stringent standards of Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) in the world and MRLs of pesticides are fixed differently for different food commodities based on their risk assessments,” a statement read.
FSSAI said that pesticides are regulated by the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (MoA & FW) through the Central Insecticide Board and Registration Committee (CIB & RC) constituted under the Insecticide Act, 1968.
There were several reports that FSSAI raised the permissible limits for spices which would make more Indian spices unfit for the international market. The FSSAI clarified and said that this limit was only for spices imported from other countries and not the ones registered in India.
In light of recent updates, the FSSAI said that they are committed to aligning with international standards and emphasise that MRL revisions are conducted on a scientifically valid basis to uphold food safety and quality standards in India. They also promised to carry out random testing to ensure safety.
FSSAI’s statement
Comparing the quality standards the regulatory body said, “One pesticide/insecticide is used in more than 10 crops with different MRLs. For example, Flubendiamide is used in brinjal with an MRL of 0.1 whereas for Bengal gram the MRL is 1.0 mg/kg, for cabbage 4 mg/kg, for tomato 2 mg/kg and for tea it is 50 mg/kg. Similarly, monocrotophos used for food grains with MRLs at 0.03 mg/kg, for citrus fruits at 0.2 mg/kg, for dried chilli it is 2 mg/kg and for cardamom 0.5 mg/kg.”
“The MRLs fixed by CODEX for Myclobutanil used for chilli is 20 mg/kg whereas the limit set by FSSAI is 2 mg/kg. For Spiromesifen, used for chilli, codex limit is 5 mg/kg whereas FSSAI limit is 1 mg/kg. Similarly, codex standards for Metalaxyl and Metalaxyl-M used for black pepper is 2 mg/kg whereas the limit set by FSSAI is 0.5 mg/kg/,” FSSAI added in the statement.
The Spice Ban
The controversy over Indian spices started when after Hong Kong and Singapore, the Maldives also banned the sale of Indian spices brands Everest and MDH in the country. the spices were banned because the food authorities found them to contain ethylene oxide, not recommended in food products due to adverse health effects.
Earlier, Hong Kong and Singapore banned the sale of MDH and Everest, claiming the presence of carcinogen pesticide ethylene oxide in several spices. Singapore ordered a recall of the Everest spice mix, saying it contains high levels of ethylene oxide, which is unfit for human consumption and a cancer risk with long exposure.
In response to that MDH issued a statement and rejected all allegations.
“This reinforces the fact that the allegations against MDH are baseless, unsubstantiated, and not backed by any concrete evidence. MDH reassures its buyers and customers about the safety and quality of all its products. We reassure our buyers and consumers that we do not use Ethylene Oxide (ETO) at any stage of storing, processing, or packing our spices,” the statement said.
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