Recently, the Ministry of Commerce informed the Rajya Sabha that Indian spices have not been banned by countries such as Singapore and Hong Kong. Instead, specific batches of certain spice mixtures exported from India were recalled by the food safety authorities in these regions due to the presence of ethylene oxide (EtO) in levels exceeding permissible limits. Minister of State for Health, Anupriya Patel, provided this information in a written response.
The Singapore Food Agency, as part of its import surveillance, placed affected consignments under a Hold-and-Test regime for one month. In response, the Spices Board, operating under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, has implemented several measures to address varying EtO limits set by importing countries. These measures include mandatory pre-shipment testing of spices destined for these markets and the issuance of comprehensive guidelines for exporters. These guidelines aim to prevent EtO contamination at all stages, including procurement, packing, storage, and transportation.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) remains committed to ensuring the availability of safe food products throughout the country. The FSSAI, through state and union territory offices, as well as its regional offices, conducts regular surveillance, monitoring, inspections, and random sampling of various food products, including dairy items, spices, and fortified rice. This is done to ensure compliance with quality and safety standards as stipulated by the Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act, 2006, and its regulations.
In cases of non-compliance, the FSSAI initiates penal actions against defaulting food business operators as per the provisions of the FSS Act. Additionally, the FSSAI has conducted nationwide surveillance of milk and milk products in 2011, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2022, and 2023, with reports from the 2018, 2020, and 2022 surveys available publicly on the FSSAI website.
To enhance food safety, the FSSAI has also deployed ‘Food Safety on Wheels’ for rapid testing of milk and milk products and has conducted pan-India surveillance on spices in 2022. Furthermore, the FSSAI has established standards for fortified rice, rice flour for fortified rice kernels, and vitamin-mineral premixes, aimed at effective implementation of the national rice fortification program. The FSSAI has also launched a dedicated portal, FoRTRACE, to facilitate the traceability of fortified rice production from premix manufacturing to the final product.
