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India’s spice scare a wake-up call to review food safety
India wants to ramp up its food exports, but for this to happen it must overhaul its rickety regulatory system to ensure what is sold is safe to consume.
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Some products by manufacturers Everest and MDH contain unsafe levels of ethylene oxide.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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KOLKATA – The allure of Indian spices has been timeless. They attracted European colonial traders to the country several centuries ago and helped lay the ground for ancient maritime trade. Even today they remain in demand, powering India’s rise as the world’s largest spice exporter, with more than $5.6 billion worth of masala shipped worldwide each year.
But that longstanding image of India as a coveted source of spices took a walloping recently when certain spice products from two well-known Indian brands were recalled in Singapore and Hong Kong
