US Trade Body Bats For Ethylene-Treated Spices Amid Heat On Indian Firms

The American Spice Trade Association has asserted that ethylene oxide is permitted for use on spices in the US and prohibiting it could potentially result in "serious unintended implications," like non-compliance with food safety standards.

The comments come at a time when Hong Kong suspended sales of certain ready-made spices from MDH and Everest, considered household brands in India, for allegedly containing high levels of cancer-causing ethylene oxide. This sparked concerns regarding food safety regulations, with several countries like the US, New Zealand, the Maldives, Bangladesh and Australia raising questions about the quality of spices supplied from India.

"Currently, the US regulations permit the use of EtO treatment on imported spice products as long as residues adhere to the prescribed tolerances," Laura Shumow, executive director of ASTA, said in a letter dated May 9 to the Spices Board of India. "Moreover, without the use of EtO, imported spices are at a higher risk of the presence of pathogens and non-compliance with the FDA food safety regulations."

The US imports more than 1 lakh tonnes of spices from India valued at more than $360 million annually, according to the trade body. The ASTA represents 200 spice manufacturers in the US.

Ethylene oxide is an approved antimicrobial fumigant and the maximum residue limit for EtO is 7 parts per million, while that of ethylene chlorohydrin is 940 ppm for herbs and spices, except basil, the industry body said. The spice industry relies on EtO sterilisation as one of the "primary methods" to comply with Food and Drug Administration regulations under the Food Safety Modernization Act.

"Specifically, the Preventive Controls for Human Foods Final Rule requires that US companies have in place a validated kill step to control the risk of foodborne pathogens known to occur on spices, including salmonella and E. coli," it said. The US Environmental Protection Agency determines that consumption of spices treated with EtO is "safe,"  while the FDA has indicated that there is no "cancer concern" from exposures to EtO residues from the consumption of spices.

Imports, too, are required to be treated with a validated kill step, such as EtO, prior to being sold in the US. Spices that do not undergo a validated kill step prior to import to the US will be deemed 'not ready to eat' and are required to be labelled with a disclosure of 'not processed to control microbial hazards', according to the ASTA. "Replacing EtO with alternative methods would require cost-and time-intensive validation studies to comply with FDA regulations while maintaining quality standards."

Both Everest and MDH had previously said their spices were "safe" for consumption. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India is currently checking the quality standards of the two companies. Its scientific panel examining the matter is expected to submit a detailed report on May 31.

The Spices Board of India, the government's regulator for spice exports, said it was working with the companies to find the "root cause" of the alleged contamination as inspections started at their plants. It also issued guidelines to exporters, advising them against using EtO as a sterilising agent to reduce the microbial contamination in spice consignments. It suggested switching to alternatives like steam sterilisation and irradiation.

A report by the Global Trade Research Initiative has warned that rising global scrutiny could jeopardise over half of India's $4 billion in spice exports, particularly if other countries implement bans or restrictions similar to those imposed by Hong Kong and Singapore. If the European Union and China—influenced by actions in Hong Kong and Singapore—decide to reject Indian spice consignments over quality issues, Indian spice exports could see a "dramatic downturn,"  the think tank had said.