The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), India’s top food regulator, reported that the spices produced by MDH and Everest do not have traces of ethylene oxide (ETO).
The FSSAI sample test was a consequence of claims made by the food safety and standards agencies of Hong Kong and Singapore. The two countries had flagged quality concerns regarding spices. They alleged that the spices produced by the two spice brands contain ethylene oxide—exposure to this chemical is associated with various kinds of cancers.
The two countries subsequently banned certain products produced by MDH and Everest. 
Inspection drive
FSSAI launched a nationwide inspection drive on April 22, involving all state and union territory food safety commissioners and regional directors.
The sample of the spices in powder form was conducted in 28 NABL-accredited laboratories; reports from six other laboratories are still pending.
According to the report, the food regulator collected 34 Everest and MDH spice samples for testing. Nine spice samples were collected from Everest’s facilities in Maharashtra and Gujarat, while 25 samples were collected from MDH’s production centres in Delhi, Haryana, and Rajasthan.
The FSSAI Scientific Panel also analysed the samples for other parameters, including moisture content, insect and rodent contamination, heavy metals, aflatoxins, pesticide residues, and various microbiological contaminants.
The scientific panel comprises eminent scientists from the Spice Board, CSMCRI (Gujarat), Indian Spice Research Institute (Kerala), NIFTEM (Haryana), BARC (Mumbai), CMPAP (Lucknow), DRDO (Assam), ICAR, National Research Centre on Grapes, (Pune).
The products which were mainly under scrutiny include MDH’s Madras Curry Powder, Everest Fish Curry Masala, MDH Sambhar Masala Mixed Masala Powder, and MDH Curry Powder Mixed Masala Powder.
The FSSAI also sampled 300 more spice samples from other brands in addition to the alleged spice mixes. However, the food regulator didn’t find traces of the cancer-causing substance, showing that Indian products are safe for consumption.
Nepal and Maldives also banned the spice mixed as banned by Hong Kong and Singapore.
