FSSAI to check quality of Spices

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has ordered a pan-India sampling and testing drive of spices products of various brands to check on safety and quality parameters after Hong Kong’s Centre for Food Safety asked consumers not to consume few Indian spice brands allegedly over presence of a pesticide called ethylene oxide.

About FSSAI

• FSSAI is an autonomous statutory body established under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 (FSS Act).
• Ministry of Health & Family Welfare is the administrative Ministry of FSSAI.
• FSSAI is tasked with enforcement of standards and regulations only in the domestic market.
• Spice Board of India evaluates spice products prior to exports and is also expected to look into this issue.

Infant nutrition

• FSSAI is also expected to be testing samples of infant nutrition products being sold in the country.
• This comes after a report that has raised concerns regarding “added sugar” levels in infant cereal products sold by Nestle in India and other developing markets.
• According to FSSAI regulations-
  • Lactose and glucose polymers shall be the preferred carbohydrates for food for infant nutrition.
  • Sucrose and/or fructose shall not be added, unless needed as a carbohydrate source, and provided the sum of these does not exceed 20 per cent of total carbohydrate.