So are Indian spices safe? The federal government has directed all state governments to conduct quality checks. The Spices Board – which has five quality assessment laboratories – has issued guidelines for exporters to check the use of ethylene oxide. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is also testing the samples.
Indian Ministry of Health claim, outside The country has one of the strictest Maximum Residue Limits (MRL) standards in the world, with pesticide MRLs varying by food item and determined through rigorous risk assessment . But something was clearly amiss: in 2022, the FDA highlighted inadequate hygiene, accommodation and equipment cleanliness standards at a leading Indian spice factory.
“India has been an exporter of spices for centuries. But this image has declined in the last few years due to the government not paying enough attention. We still do not know the pollution that is happening at this stage.” Farmers do not use ethylene oxide. It is most likely post-harvest, post-processing waste,” said Narasimha Reddy Donthi, an independent researcher and environmental justice activist.
Mr. Reddy added: “It’s not just negative attention. Repeated cases of excessive residue can have long-term effects. In the past, mango exports to the US were affected for many years due to pesticide residue”.
The Delhi-based Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) believes that recent quality concerns could threaten half of India’s spice exports due to “regulatory actions”. cascading in many countries”.
GTRI said in a recent report that if China questions the quality of Indian spices, more than half of India’s global exports could be affected, along with five other countries. “The situation could get worse if the EU, which regularly rejects Indian spice shipments due to quality issues, follows suit.”
For spice enthusiasts in the West, the origins of the spices in their dishes remain unclear.
“I don’t think most people know where their spices come from. I certainly don’t, and I use spices a lot! I live a block from Chicago’s main Indian shopping district, Devon Avenue , where I shop a few blocks away from my spices. I assumed they were from India but had never considered this,” Colleen Taylor Sen, an author specializing in Indian cuisine, told me.
Ultimately, experts say, India must fundamentally rethink its approach to food safety, prioritizing transparency, strict enforcement and clear communication to protect the integrity of its exports. .
