New Delhi: The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has now allowed an increased quantity of pesticides as compared to what was allowed earlier, Economics Times has reported.
Known as the maximum residue limit (MRL), the increase is up to 10 times, according to the ET report published May 4.
The MRL has increased from 0.01 milligrams per kilogram (mg/kg) to 0.1 mg/kg.
“This relaxation means Indian spices will face more rejections when exported to some large markets,” ET quoted Dileep Kumar, CEO of Pesticide Action Network, as saying. He also said this move may facilitate the import of spices with higher amounts of pesticides.
The FSSAI has said it has increased the limit on the basis of several representations made to it, though the report doesn’t specify who made them.
Down To Earth reported on this on April 24. It quoted the Centre for Science and Environment’s programme director for sustainable food development Amit Khurana as saying, “If you [FSSAI] are making such a huge upward revision, then you have to substantiate it by releasing the data based on which the decision was made.”
He also said the increase could severely impact the health of those consuming these spices.
Last month Hong Kong, Singapore and Maldives had banned the sale of MDH and Everest brands of species for being high in pesticide content. Their food regulators had found a high content of pesticide ethylene oxide, which is also cancer-causing. These countries had advised their citizens not to use these products. The MDH had rejected the reports of foreign regulators and claimed their species were completely safe.