Do the spice mixes that you pick up from the shop shelf contain cancer-causing chemicals that may harm your health in the long run? This is the big question that the country’s apex food regulator, the Food Safety and Standards of Authority India (FSSAI), is finding an answer to as it has asked all states to collect samples of different brands of powdered spices and do random testing.
This comes after authorities in Hong Kong and Singapore withdrew four spice mixes from two of India’s top manufacturers, MDH and Everest, after finding high levels of ethylene oxide in them. This is often used by manufacturers as a fumigant and a germicide to lend a long shelf life to their products. However, FSSAI doesn’t allow its use in any food product. A consolidated report on spices is likely to come out in 25 days, according to officials in the know of the matter. “Samples of spice mixes from all brands will be collected to test for the presence of ethylene oxide. While exported food items do not fall under the purview of FSSAI, it is our job to ensure that products consumed by the Indian population are safe. So, we decided to check whether this contaminant is present in products available in the Indian market as well.”
If the two manufacturers are found guilty, the official said, action would be taken as per the Food Safety Act.
What is ethylene oxide?
“Ethylene oxide is a pesticide that has been classified as a Group 1 carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, meaning there is sufficient evidence from human studies that it can cause cancer,” says Kanika Narang, nutritionist at Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, New Delhi.
It is used by the spice industry to reduce microbial contamination, such as E. coli and Salmonella. It is a colourless, highly flammable and very reactive gas with a sweet odour that kills bacteria, viruses and fungi. It is made from fossil fuels (petroleum or natural gas) and used in a range of industrial processes including the manufacture of synthetic chemicals, polymers, plastics, pharmaceuticals, glycols, solvents, adhesives and detergents or fumigants.
How can ethylene oxide impact your health?
As a nutrition professional, Narang advises extreme caution when it comes to consuming foods containing this toxic substance, even at low levels. That’s because ethylene oxide can damage DNA, which helps it sterilise things but also makes it capable of causing cancer.
“While the risk from occasional, low-level exposure may be minimal, spices and spice blends like those flagged are commonly used in household cooking across multiple dishes. This can lead to chronic, persistent exposure over time, which has been linked to an increased risk of cancers like leukemia, stomach cancer and breast cancer. It can even lead to respiratory irritation and lung injury, headache, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and shortness of breath. Until more rigorous testing and remediation efforts are undertaken by the brands involved, it is prudent for consumers to avoid the identified products entirely and seek out alternative spice sources with transparent safety profiles,” she adds.
Where else is ethylene oxide banned?
Ethylene oxide was used in plant protection and as a disinfectant. This was permitted in Germany until 1981 and in the rest of the European Union (EU) until 1991. In addition, the substance could also be used in the EU until 2011 for the fumigation of food and animal feed in order to protect them from fungal and bacterial attack during transport and storage. Since 2011, all food and feed applications have been banned. The use of ethylene oxide is now only permitted in the area of disinfection and sterilisation outside the food sector, such as for the sterilisation of medical devices.