MDH Masala Safety 2026: Ethylene Oxide & FSSAI Verdict

Few brands are as deeply woven into the fabric of Indian cooking as MDH — Mahashian Di Hatti. Founded in 1919 in Sialkot (now Pakistan) by Mahashay Chunni Lal, and rebuilt in Delhi after Partition by his son Dharampal Gulati, MDH grew from a small cart to India's second-largest spice company with a 12% market share. The late Dharampal Gulati, who passed away in December 2020 at 97, became the face of the brand and was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2019.

MDH today offers over 64 spice blends sourced from Kerala, Karnataka, Rajasthan, and also from Iran and Afghanistan. Products range from Garam Masala and Chana Masala to Dal Makhani Masala, Rajma Masala, and Shahi Paneer Masala. The brand is sold in over 100 countries. For millions of Indian families, MDH is synonymous with authentic flavour — which made the 2024 safety controversy all the more alarming.

Despite its household-name status, MDH — like most Indian spice brands — operates in a regulatory environment where testing for pesticide residues, heavy metals, and sterilisation byproducts has historically been inconsistent. AaharIQ's team decided to examine MDH's ingredient safety, the 2024 ethylene oxide crisis, FSSAI's response, and what consumers should know before reaching for that familiar red packet.

MDH masala blends are combinations of dried and powdered spices. The base ingredients in most MDH products include coriander (dhaniya), cumin (jeera), turmeric (haldi), red chilli, black pepper, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, bay leaf, and mace. Specialty blends add additional spices. For example, MDH Chana Masala contains pomegranate seed powder (anardana), amchur, and hing (asafoetida). Dal Makhani Masala includes fenugreek (methi) and dried ginger.

MDH does not use artificial preservatives, colours, or flavours in its core spice blends. The spices themselves are natural. However, the real concern lies not in what is intentionally added, but in what enters the product through agricultural practices, soil contamination, and post-harvest processing — specifically pesticide residues and the use of sterilisation agents like ethylene oxide.

Spices are particularly vulnerable to contamination because they are grown in open fields using pesticides and then stored in warehouses where fumigants are applied to prevent microbial contamination and extend shelf life. Unlike whole fruits or vegetables where you can wash the surface, powdered spices incorporate any surface residues directly into the product, making detection and removal far more difficult.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) specifies maximum residue levels (MRLs) for various pesticides in spices under the Food Safety and Standards (Contaminants, Toxins and Residues) Regulations. However, ethylene oxide was not legally permitted for use in Indian food products — yet residues appeared in exported goods, suggesting it was being used somewhere along the supply chain, either by farmers, processors, or exporters.

In April 2024, the Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of Hong Kong and the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) issued recalls for four Indian spice products: three from MDH (Madras Curry Powder, Sambhar Masala Mixed Masala Powder, and Curry Powder Mixed Masala Powder) and one from Everest (Fish Curry Masala). The reason: levels of ethylene oxide that exceeded the regulatory limits of both jurisdictions. Both Hong Kong and Singapore had set limits of 0.02 mg/kg for ethylene oxide residues — far stricter than the Indian standard which, at the time, did not specify a limit for ethylene oxide in spices at all.

The news spread rapidly. Nepal immediately suspended the import and sale of MDH and Everest masalas. The Maldives followed. European authorities had already flagged ethylene oxide in Indian food products on multiple occasions through RASFF (Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed) — the EU body that tracks food safety alerts. Between 2020 and April 2024, the EU flagged 527 Indian food products for ethylene oxide contamination.

In India, the controversy triggered public alarm. Social media was flooded with images of people discarding MDH masala packets. The Spices Board of India — the government body that regulates spice exports — had issued a circular in September 2021 warning exporters about ethylene oxide and asking them to test products. But enforcement remained lax, and the contamination continued for years.

The FSSAI announced it would conduct quality checks on MDH and Everest products across India. Over 25 samples from MDH's 11 manufacturing units and samples from Everest's two facilities were collected and sent to accredited laboratories. The FSSAI also tested over 300 additional spice samples from other brands.

Ethylene oxide (EtO) is a colourless, flammable gas with a faintly sweet odour. It is primarily used as an industrial chemical to manufacture other compounds, but it is also used as a fumigant and sterilising agent for food products, medical equipment, and storage facilities. In food processing, ethylene oxide has been applied to spices to reduce microbial contamination, including bacteria like Salmonella which commonly contaminate spice powders.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) — the gold standard for carcinogen classification — classifies ethylene oxide as a Group 1 carcinogen, meaning there is sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in humans. Long-term exposure to ethylene oxide is associated with an increased risk of leukaemia, stomach cancer, breast cancer, and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The US EPA has also classified it as a known human carcinogen.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has stated that ethylene oxide is genotoxic and mutagenic, meaning it damages DNA and can cause heritable genetic mutations. There is no established safe threshold for its consumption — any exposure carries risk, though higher doses and longer exposures increase risk significantly.

The EU banned the use of ethylene oxide in food products in 2011, which is why European regulators have a zero-tolerance approach to its presence. India and the US have different regulatory frameworks. In India, ethylene oxide was not listed as a permitted fumigant for spices intended for domestic consumption. The fact that it was being detected in exported products — but not being screened domestically — represented a major regulatory gap.

For the average Indian consumer who uses MDH masala daily in sabzi, dal, and curries, the exposure would be chronic and low-level. While FSSAI's tests reportedly found no traces of ethylene oxide in the samples it collected, independent experts cautioned that the testing methodology and sample selection needed to be fully transparent for the public to have confidence in these results.

Following the international recalls, FSSAI moved quickly — at least in public statements. The regulator announced it had directed all state food safety commissioners to collect and test samples from MDH, Everest, and other masala brands. Over 300 samples were tested, and in May 2024, an FSSAI official stated that no traces of ethylene oxide were found in the domestic samples collected.

However, critics and food safety advocates raised several concerns. First, the samples tested were collected from retail shelves and manufacturing units — meaning they were current production batches that companies, already alerted to the scrutiny, may have ensured were clean. The contaminated products that Hong Kong and Singapore detected were export batches that left India earlier. Second, India's testing laboratories use detection methods that may have different sensitivity thresholds compared to EU and Singapore labs. Third, FSSAI did not publicly publish the detailed testing data, methodology, or batch information — leaving consumers unable to independently verify the results.

Regulatory experts also pointed out that India allows ethylene oxide for use in fumigation of storage facilities, even if not directly on food. If a warehouse storing spices is fumigated with ethylene oxide, the spices inside will absorb residues — and this contamination pathway is difficult to track without mandatory batch-level residue testing, which India does not require.

In response to the crisis, the Spices Board tightened export certification requirements. From May 2024, exporters were required to provide certificates confirming that ethylene oxide had not been used and that products were below detectable limits. This was a positive step for export safety — but did not address the domestic market, where no such certificate is required.

Ethylene oxide is not the only concern with Indian masala products. A broader picture of contamination risks includes pesticide residues, heavy metals, and aflatoxins (fungal toxins). Multiple studies examining Indian spice samples have detected residues of organophosphate and organochlorine pesticides, including chlorpyrifos, malathion, and DDT (which is largely banned globally but still found in Indian soils due to historical use).

A 2018 study published in the journal Food Control analysed 82 samples of Indian spices and detected pesticide residues in 65% of samples, with 14% exceeding maximum residue limits (MRLs). Red chilli, coriander, and cumin — all key components of MDH blends — showed the highest contamination rates. Red chilli in particular is known for high pesticide use during cultivation.

Heavy metal contamination (lead, cadmium, arsenic) is another concern. Turmeric in India has been associated with lead contamination — often from lead chromate added to enhance colour — though this practice is more common in loose, unpackaged turmeric sold in local markets. Branded and packaged products from manufacturers like MDH carry lower risk due to manufacturing controls, but are not immune.

Aflatoxins, produced by Aspergillus moulds that grow in poorly stored grains and spices, are potent liver carcinogens. Improperly stored chilli powder and coriander powder are common sources. FSSAI does set aflatoxin limits for spices, but enforcement at the farm and wholesale level is patchy.

NOVA classification perspectives: MDH masala blends fall into NOVA Group 1 (minimally processed foods — just ground spices) when they contain only spices. There are no ultra-processed additives. The safety concerns are entirely about contamination during growing, processing, and storage — not about the nature of the product itself.

The MDH-Everest crisis exposed a significant regulatory gap between India and the countries that import its spices. The European Union has set a maximum residue limit of 0.1 mg/kg for ethylene oxide in spices. Singapore and Hong Kong have even stricter limits. India, as of 2024, did not have a specific MRL for ethylene oxide in spices for domestic sale — although it was prohibited for use as a direct food fumigant.

This asymmetry means that a product that fails safety tests in Europe or Singapore can still legally be sold in India. The Spices Board of India has acknowledged this gap and has pushed for India to harmonise its standards with international norms. The National Food Laboratory and regional food testing laboratories under FSSAI have been working to upgrade their ethylene oxide detection capabilities, as the earlier methodology was not sufficiently sensitive.

The EU's RASFF system is a model India could learn from. RASFF is a real-time database that records food safety alerts from all EU member states, allowing rapid cross-border communication. India has a similar system called SUGAM, but it is not as comprehensive or transparent. Greater transparency in food safety alerts would allow Indian consumers to make informed choices rather than relying solely on government assurances.

Post-crisis, FSSAI announced in 2024 that it was working on updating the Food Safety and Standards (Contaminants, Toxins and Residues) Regulations to specifically include limits for ethylene oxide. This regulatory update, if implemented with strict enforcement, would significantly close the gap between Indian and international standards.

Here is how ethylene oxide limits compared across the regions involved in the 2024 recalls:

MDH and Everest were the brands that faced international scrutiny, but they are not alone in the potential for contamination. The Indian spice industry — which produces over 75% of the world's spices — includes hundreds of brands at various quality levels. Large organised players like MDH, Everest, Catch, Eastern, and Priya have better quality control than loose/unbranded spices sold in local markets. However, even branded products carry risks if sourcing and testing are not robust.

Everest Spices, India's largest spice brand with approximately 12.5% market share, faced the same recalls as MDH in 2024. Eastern Condiments, strong in South India, and Catch Spices, which uses ITC's supply chain, have not faced similar international rejections but are also not independently certified for ethylene oxide-free production.

International organic and certified brands like Organic India and 24 Mantra Organic offer spices with third-party certification, including testing for pesticide residues. These products cost more but offer greater traceability. For consumers concerned about spice safety, opting for organically certified masalas is a meaningful step — provided the organic certification is genuine (look for the NPOP/Jaivik Bharat logo).

Home grinding of whole spices (buying whole coriander, cumin, cloves, and grinding fresh) is the safest option but impractical for most urban consumers. At minimum, buying from brands that provide transparent batch-level testing information and have ISO 22000 or FSSC 22000 certification significantly reduces risk.