Two of India’s biggest spice brands MDH and Everest have come under the scanner over alleged unsafe food practices. Everest’s Fish Curry Masala and MDH’s Madras curry powder, Sambhar masala mixed masala powder and Curry powder mixed masala powder have been recalled by Hong Kong after the country’s Centre for Food Safety (CFS) found traces of ethylene in the spice packs as part of testing under its routine food surveillance programme. Singapore also issued a similar notification for Everest’s Fish Curry Masala. Ethylene oxide is classified as carcinogen by The International Agency for Research on Cancer.
The FSSAI has begun collecting samples of spices in powder form of all brands across India amid the development, TOI had reported.
“MDH Group reassures their consumers that MDH abides by health and safety standards, both domestically and internationally. MDH tagline ‘asli masale sach sach’ reflect the company’s genuine commitment to provide authentic, high-quality spices to their customers,” the company said.
Everest and MDH lead India’s branded spices market the size of which has been pegged by analysts at well over Rs 20,000 crore. Everest’s revenue from operations stood at Rs 3,053 crore while that of MDH stood at Rs 2,172 crore as of FY23, data sourced from market intelligence platform Tofler showed.
The All India Consumer Products Distributors Federation (AICPDF) said that since there are no restrictions imposed by FSSAI on the MDH and Everest products, it does not see any reason for retailers to stop selling them. “We believe that until FSSAI raises any concerns or restrictions, it is safe for kirana store owners to continue selling these products,” the association said.
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