New Delhi: The carcinogenic insecticide ethylene oxide has been found in MDH Everest Masala. Following this, Hong Kong banned the sale of spices of popular Indian spice brands MDH Private and Everest Food Products Pvt. Singapore had taken a similar step against Everest last week. Singapore has also alleged the presence of ethylene oxide in such spices. Hong Kong’s Food Safety Center announced on April 5 that the presence of ethylene oxide was found in three spices from the MDH group during a routine monitoring programme – they were Madras curry powder, sambhar masala powder, and curry powder.
The CFS collected samples of those spices from three retail outlets. The test results of the routine food monitoring program showed that the samples contained a pesticide, ethylene oxide. The CFS has informed the concerned vendors about such incidents and asked them to stop the sale of those spices.