India News | Several Steps Taken to Prevent EtO Contamination in Shipments by Spices Board: Comm Min
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. Spices Board has taken a series of steps, including mandatory pre-shipment testing of these products being exported to Singapore and Hong Kong, to prevent possible EtO contamination, Parliament was informed on Friday.
New Delhi, Aug 2 (PTI) Spices Board has taken a series of steps, including mandatory pre-shipment testing of these products being exported to Singapore and Hong Kong, to prevent possible EtO contamination, Parliament was informed on Friday.
These steps were taken after specific batches of a few spice mixtures exported from India were recalled by Food Safety Authorities in Hong Kong and Singapore due to the presence of ethylene oxide (EtO), a carcinogenic chemical, above permissible limits.
Also Read | Uttar Pradesh: CM Yogi Adityanath Slams Samajwadi Party Over Gang Rape of 12-Year-Old Girl in Ayodhya.
As part of its import surveillance, the Singapore Food Agency put the consignments of spices from certain Indian brands under the hold-and-test regime for a period of one month.
"Spices Board has taken various steps including mandatory pre-shipment testing of spices being exported to these destinations, issuance of comprehensive guidelines to be followed by exporters to prevent possible EtO contamination at all stages," Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jitin Prasada said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.
Also Read | .
He clarified that Indian spices have not been banned by Singapore and Hong Kong.
All the food commodities, including spices whether manufactured/ processed domestically or imported for consumption in domestic markets in India, are required to comply with the standards laid down under the food safety and standards regulations.
In a reply to a separate question, Prasada said that India and Sri Lanka are negotiating an Economic and Technology Cooperation Agreement (ETCA) which covers both goods and services.
"India's immediate neighbours are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The volume of two-way trade (import and export) with immediate neighbours for the last 5 years is USD 676.6 billion," he said.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)