India's wake-up call to review food safety

Some spice products by Indian manufacturers have been found to contain unsafe levels of ethylene oxide. — Agencies

THE allure of Indian spices has been timeless. They attracted European colonial traders to the country several centuries ago and helped lay the ground for ancient maritime trade. Even today they remain in demand, powering India’s rise as the world’s largest spice exporter, with more than US$5.6bil (RM26.4bil) worth of masala shipped worldwide each year.

But that longstanding image of India as a coveted source of spices took a walloping recently when certain spice products from two well-known Indian brands were recalled in Singapore and Hong Kong for containing unsafe levels of ethylene oxide.