The Rajasthan food safety department recently provided a report on the ongoing controversy surrounding spices, stating that they found certain spices from well-known companies like MDH and Everest to be “unsafe” to eat.
According to a recent Reuters report, the state made the declaration to the federal government after conducting quality checks in laboratories. The report also claims that Shubhra Singh, Rajasthan’s additional chief secretary for health, wrote a confidential letter to the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) stating that after testing samples of various spices, they found two MDHs and a batch of Everest spice mix to be dangerous.
In the letter, Shubhra Singh also asked the state authorities in Gujarat and Haryana, where the MDH and Everest batches were manufactured, to “take action in the matter without delay.” According to the Reuters report, the letter had no details on the results. State officials in Rajasthan, however, had earlier claimed in a statement that they had seized 12,000 kg of different spices due to possible contamination. According to the statement, there were “very high levels” of pesticides and insecticides in several of these spices. So far, neither Shubhra Singh nor the FSSAI have commented further regarding the matter.
As per the Reuters report, when contacted about the Rajasthan government’s results, Everest replied in an email that they do not “add any pesticides to spices during any stage of manufacturing and packing.” MDH has yet to reply to this matter.