MDH says its products are safe; Rejects pesticide accusation

MDH, a leading spice brand, assured consumers on Saturday that its products are 100 percent safe and rejected accusations from Hong Kong and Singapore food regulators about the presence of certain pesticides in some products.

Earlier this month, the Hong Kong Center for Food Safety (CFS) said samples of several types of pre-packed spice mix products from two Indian brands MDH and Everest were found to contain the pesticide ethylene oxide.

The CFS asked consumers not to buy MDH’s Madras Curry Powder (spice mixture for Madras curry), Everest Fish Curry Masala, MDH Sambhar Masala Mixed Masala Powder and MDH Curry Powder Mixed Masala Powder and traders to avoid buying MDH’s Madras Curry Powder (spice mixture for Madras curry). curry), Everest Fish Curry Masala, MDH Sambhar Masala Mixed Masala Powder and MDH Curry Powder Mixed Masala Powder.

In a statement, MDH said it had not received any communications from food safety regulators in Hong Kong and Singapore. Regarding the alleged presence of ETO (ethylene oxide) in some of its products, MDH said that “these claims are untrue and do not contain any supporting evidence.”

“Furthermore, we would like to state that MDH has not received any communication from Singapore or Hong Kong regulators.” MDH stated that the Spice Board of India and food regulator FSSAI have not received any communication or testing reports from Hong Kong or Singapore authorities on this matter.

“This reinforces the fact that the allegations against MDH are baseless, baseless and unsupported by any concrete evidence,” the statement said. “MDH reassures its buyers and customers of the safety and quality of all its products. We assure our buyers and consumers that we do not use Ethylene Oxide (ETO) at any stage of the storage, processing or packaging of our spices,” the statement said . .

The company also said it adheres to health and safety standards, both national and international. “MDH tagline, ‘Asli Masale Sach Sach, MDH MDH’ and ‘Real Spices of India’ reflect our sincere commitment to providing authentic, high-quality spices to customers,” the company said.

Following Hong Kong’s directive, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) also ordered the recall of imported ‘Everest Fish Curry Masala’. India is the world’s largest producer, consumer and exporter of spices.

In 2022-23, the country exported spices worth nearly Rs 32,000 crore. Chili, cumin, spice oils and oleoresins, turmeric, curry powder and cardamom are the main spices exported.