The food safety regulator of New Zealand said that it is investigating possible contamination in spice products of Indian brands MDH and Everest. This comes after the United States and Australia also said that they are looking into contamination in the spice mixes after Hong Kong last month suspended sales of three spice blends of MDH and one of Everest.
Authorities in Hong Kong said the spice mixes contained high levels of a cancer-causing pesticide, ethylene oxide while Singapore also ordered a recall of the Everest spice mix.
New Zealand Food Safety said as per news agency Reuters, “Ethylene oxide is a chemical known to cause cancer in humans, and its use for food sterilisation has been phased out in New Zealand and other countries. As MDH and Everest spices are also available in New Zealand, we are looking into this issue.”
MDH and Everest are also being inspected by Indian regulator FSSAI as the companies sent samples for testing amid global scrutiny.