After Amul, Mother Dairy and Country Delight, now popular Indian brand Everest Spices is facing quality concerns, said several media reports. Laboratory tests conducted on some of the products of Everest Spices have revealed significant safety concerns.
According to the tests, some Everest Spices products have been found to contain bacteria and pesticide residues above the recommended levels.
According to media reports, some Everest Spices products have failed laboratory quality tests. A sample of Everest Garam Masala contained two pesticides namely acetamiprid and azoxystrobin at levels higher than those permitted by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) regulations. There were also reports of elevated bacterial counts in the sample. A sample of Everest Kitchen King Masala was reported to contain the same bacterial group along with three pesticide residues above recommended levels.
The development comes shortly after popular food brands such as Amul, Mother Dairy and Country Delight faced questions over the presence of coliform bacteria in some products. These samples were reportedly sent to a laboratory to determine if they met the safety requirements set by the FSSAI. According to reports, some of the products reportedly contained some bacterial contaminants that exceeded the limits set by food safety regulations.
The Enterobacteriaceae are a group of bacteria that are known to cause food contamination.
Everest Masala Ethylene Oxide Issue
A couple of years ago Everest Fish Curry Masala was in the middle of a major scrutiny over concerns of Ethylene Oxide, considered not suitable for human consumption. Several countries had issued alert on usage of the spices of this Indian brand.
Ethylene Oxide is commonly used for fumigation of agricultural produce that helps in preventing microbial contamination. The regulations in Singapore allows for usage of ethylene oxide in the sterilization of spices.
However, in 2022, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) had cleared more than a dozen samples of spices from Everest brands.
According to the analysis report, the extensive testing found no traces of ethylene oxide (ETO) in the samples collected from several states. The rigorous process of testing for ethylene oxide was performed at NABL-accredited laboratories notified by the FSSAI.
The food regulator also picked up 300 spice samples of other brands for testing and found “no presence of ETO”.
