People on social media — food scientists and the general public — have been asking why the FSSAI is not investigating this.
Did you know several Indian spices, herbal medicines, and other food articles are either being banned or sent back by European countries because they have cancer-causing — carcinogenic — chemicals in them?
Between September 2020 and April 2024, the European Food Safety Authorities discovered ethylene oxide in 527 food products exported from India.
The contaminated items predominantly included nuts, sesame seeds, herbs and spices, and dietetic foods.
Ethylene oxide is a chemical initially used to sterilise medical equipment, but is also applied as a pesticide in food products.
Thus, its presence in food items — beyond a certain amount — was definitely a cause for concern.
People on social media — food scientists and the general public — have been asking why the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is not investigating this.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter) on the morning of Sunday, 28 April, a doctor named Sudipto with the handle @SudiptoDoc released the list of all 527 Indian products that the European Union (EU) found to contain cancer-causing chemicals.
He askeed: “EU, HK and Singapore have either banned the products or returned the consignments from their borders. But the more important question here is: as primary consumers of the produce, that too in bulk, are we being taken for a ride? What’s the quantum of health risk to us, and are our regulatory bodies any good?”
The Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) is a part of an inter-authority network operating across national boundaries. Startling data from it has exposed alarming levels of ethylene oxide in a wide range of food products.
The EU’s decision to regulate these products was informed by recommendations from the European Food Safety Agency, which utilises the RASFF’s findings.
The EU has found cancer-causing chemicals in 527 Indian products reaching their borders.
Last night, after an hour or two of Internet search, I believe I succeeded in finding out the likely source of that list, and what I saw is really worrying. I will share all my findings in… pic.twitter.com/s6PW51CQlJ
— Sudipto (@SudiptoDoc) April 28, 2024
Sudipto accessed the RASFF data through a portal known as the RASFF window. His search using the keywords “Ethylene Oxide” and “India” revealed high levels of this hazardous substance in various foods including garam masala, cumin, turmeric, chia seeds, cinnamon, pepper, fennel, and cardamom.
Alarmingly, ethylene oxide was also found in numerous health supplements marketed as immunity boosters and herbal medicine. These contaminated products were either detained or turned back at the EU’s borders.
Meanwhile, there were 1,094 RASFF notifications from 17 May, 2019, to 26 April, 2024 on products that originated from India.
In these five years, the Indian products that RASFF flagged were found to have contained aflatoxin, pesticide residues, mycotoxins, nitrofurans, salmonella, chlorpyriphos, anthraquinone, cadmium mineral oil, mercury, and multiple other hazardous contaminants with potentially serious health risks.
South First looked at the products from the last two months that were either flagged or sent back by the EU authorities and found even rice from India was flagged for multiple pesticide residues.
From pepper, pickle spice mix, groundnuts, nutcrackers, seeds, to even drumsticks and capsicum were either flagged or sent back for containing harmful chemicals.
Despite these findings, proactive steps are not being taken in India to do a periodic check on such products.
The EU has set a limit of 0.1 mg/kg for ethylene oxide in food products, but Indian exports have frequently exceeded this limit, prompting some consignments to be rejected at EU borders, claimed food authorities.
Interestingly, while the FSSAI is still looking into the Indian spices, Chirag Barjatya — the founder of the fitness community and online fitness and health service platform PFC Club — said he recently tested the Everest fish curry masala for ethylene oxide, as was the allegation. He said his findings were disconcerting.
Hepatologist Dr Cyriac Abby Philips, who goes by TheLiverDoc on X, posted the report from the Everest fish curry masala test on the platform.
He said the analysis showed that the content of the cancer-causing ethylene oxide was 70 times more than the EU limit.
Even FSSAI India had not approved such high levels of the compound in the end product.
True to what European Union food safety standards regulatory bodies identified on export quality spices mix manufactured in India…
…a random analysis of domestically sold masala mix from Everest Company also showed cancer causing ethylene oxide 70 times more than what EU has… https://t.co/Uem2m72ENK pic.twitter.com/jnhkvGo5x5
— TheLiverDoc (@theliverdr) April 27, 2024
Asking if it was the job of influencers or a health coaches to conduct such tests, Chirag said he was neither equipped nor qualified to do comprehensive food testing, which includes checking for adulteration and other chemical contaminants. This limitation underscores the need for robust, systematic checks by designated authorities.
Guys, it is not your job, it is not my job, or it is some random health influencer’s job to test products in the market.
It’s the job of government authorities.
I tested one masala today—that, too, just ethylene oxide in it. I didn’t test for adulteration, ingredients, or…
— Chirag Barjatya (@chiragbarjatyaa) April 27, 2024
“We are not some third-world country; we are India. We want to get ahead of the UK, USA, China. We were fed dreams of becoming superpower for the last 10 years. All I ask is that if I am buying something in the market, I shouldn’t be worried about the quality of that product after seeing the ‘FSSAI’ tag on it [sic],” he posted on X.
He said his concerns went beyond just spices. Daily essentials such as milk, paneer, sweets, and biscuits all pass through our hands and into those of our families without a second thought.
“The trust we place in the “FSSAI” label should provide peace of mind, yet I find myself more than shocked—I am saddened. Saddened by the realization that the safety of the very food we consume daily may not be as guaranteed as we are led to believe [sic],” he said.
(Edited by Arkadev Ghoshal)
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