Packaged Spices India: Adulteration & Ethylene Oxide Guide

In April 2024, the Hong Kong Centre for Food Safety ordered the recall of three MDH spice blends and one Everest product sold in Hong Kong due to detection of ethylene oxide (EtO) residues exceeding permitted levels. Within days, Singapore's Singapore Food Agency (SFA) issued a similar order recalling Everest's Fish Curry Masala. These actions triggered investigations in multiple countries including Nepal, Australia, and the US into the same products, and received enormous media coverage in India — raising serious questions about the safety of India's packaged spice industry.

MDH (Mahashian Di Hatti) and Everest are two of India's largest and most trusted spice brands, with combined revenues exceeding ₹3,000 crore. Their products are exported to dozens of countries, and both brands have been trusted in Indian households for generations. The recall was therefore not just a food safety event but a significant reputational and economic crisis for India's spice industry — which is also one of India's most important agricultural export sectors.

Ethylene oxide (EtO, C₂H₄O) is a fumigant — a gas used to kill bacteria, moulds, insects, and other microbial contaminants in dried food products including spices, herbs, and dried fruits. It is highly effective as a sterilant — it penetrates through entire bags and bulk containers, killing microorganisms that would otherwise contaminate the product. Historically it was used extensively in the food industry for spice sterilisation because spices (due to their harvesting and drying conditions in tropical climates) frequently carry high bacterial loads, including potentially pathogenic bacteria like Salmonella.

The health concern with ethylene oxide: it is classified as a Group 1 human carcinogen by IARC — meaning there is sufficient evidence of human carcinogenicity. EtO is a mutagen (causes DNA mutations) and can react with DNA to form adducts that initiate cancer. Chronic low-level exposure is associated with increased risk of leukaemia and lymphoma. Even low residue levels in food are a concern because EtO is both genotoxic (can damage DNA at very low doses) and there is no established 'safe' threshold for genotoxic carcinogens under the precautionary principle.

The EU banned ethylene oxide use for food sterilisation in 1991, with maximum residue limits of essentially zero (0.02 mg/kg as an analytical limit of detection). India's FSSAI also prohibits EtO use in food, but enforcement of this prohibition at the farm gate and in domestic processing is less robust than European regulatory systems.

India permits the use of ionising radiation (gamma irradiation) for spice sterilisation under FSSAI regulations — specifically under the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations and the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) oversight. Gamma irradiation using Cobalt-60 is an established and WHO-endorsed technology for reducing microbial contamination in spices and dried herbs without the chemical residue concerns of ethylene oxide.

How irradiation works: spices are exposed to gamma rays that damage the DNA of microorganisms (bacteria, moulds, insects) without significantly heating the product, thereby killing pathogens without chemical treatment. The spices themselves do not become radioactive — irradiation and radioactivity are not the same thing. The WHO, FAO, IAEA, and global food safety authorities have assessed irradiated food as safe for human consumption at approved doses. The EU, US, and most developed food systems permit irradiation of spices at specified doses.

FSSAI requires that irradiated foods carry the international Radura logo (a stylised green symbol) and declaration 'Processed by irradiation' on packaging. This labelling allows consumers to identify irradiated spices. Consumer perception of irradiation in India has been mixed — some consumers and advocacy groups have concerns about irradiated food — but from a safety evidence perspective, irradiation is a significantly safer alternative to ethylene oxide fumigation.

Beyond ethylene oxide, Indian packaged spices face a range of adulteration challenges that FSSAI surveillance consistently identifies:

Turmeric: Metanil yellow and lead chromate (artificial yellow dyes) have historically been used to enhance the colour of turmeric powder. FSSAI has taken strong enforcement action on lead chromate in turmeric (it is toxic and carcinogenic), with significant improvements in branded packaged turmeric quality. Loose turmeric from small shops remains higher risk. Red chilli powder: Sudan dyes (I–IV) — industrial azo dyes — have been found in chilli powder, enhancing colour. Sudan dyes are not approved food colours; they are potential carcinogens. FSSAI regularly tests and takes action. Brick dust and salt have also been used as bulk adulterants. Coriander powder: Dung powder, sawdust, and foreign seeds used as bulk adulterants in some unbranded samples. Cardamom: Artificially greened (with malachite green dye, a carcinogen) — some cardamom has been found with illegal dye application to enhance green colour. Fennel seeds (saunf): Artificial colouring with non-food dyes in some samples.

AaharIQ strongly recommends purchasing spices from FSSAI-licensed, branded packaged sources rather than loose/unbranded spices from shops — the quality controls of registered brands are substantially more reliable, even accounting for the 2024 EtO concerns which prompted significant industry-wide quality improvement.

AaharIQ's summary of common spice adulterants identified by FSSAI surveillance: