111 Spice Producers Manufacturing Licenses Cancelled by FSSAI

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has cancelled the production licenses of 111 spice manufacturers, ordering an immediate cessation of their operations.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has rolled out stringent measures upon discovering that ethylene oxide concentrations in recent spice samples from India surpassed the acceptable thresholds for certain international markets. Consequently, the authority has rescinded the licenses of 111 spice producers and is considering further revocations as it progresses with the analysis of 4,000 samples across the country. The scrutiny encompasses products from prominent companies like Everest, MDH, Catch, and Badshah, among others.

"So far, the food regulatory body has tested 2,200 samples; out of those, 111 spice makers couldn't match the basic standard quality of product. The licence of such spice manufacturers has been already scrapped with immediate effect and production has been stopped," an official told Mint on condition of anonymity.

"Currently, the testing centres under FSSAI are less in number and hence it is taking time to come up with the list of companies whose licenses need to be cancelled. The process of testing is still going on and the body is keeping an eye on the rest of the manufacturers as well", the person further added.

Officials report that the bulk of the revoked licenses were held by minor spice producers primarily located in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Additionally, firms from Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh are being examined. The majority of these 111 entities are small-scale operations, and attempts to reach them have been unsuccessful due to the absence of official websites, contact information, or email addresses.

In a related development earlier this year, esteemed Indian spice brands like MDH and Everest faced quality-related challenges in international markets such as the US, Hong Kong, and Singapore.