India’s spice exports regulator has asked MDH and Everest to provide details of quality checks after sales of some of their products were halted in Hong Kong for allegedly containing high levels of a cancer-causing pesticide.

Hong Kong this month suspended sales of three MDH spice blends and an Everest spice mix for fish curries. Singapore has also ordered a recall of the Everest spice mix and advised against its consumption.

The companies’ products are hugely popular in India and are exported to countries in Europe, Asia and North America.

Indian food authorities also ordered quality checks on MDH and Everest spices on Monday (Apr 22).

A senior official at the Spices Board of India, which oversees quality standards and testing guidelines, said on Tuesday (Apr 23) that the companies have been asked to explain how the products were tested and if all regulations were met.

“We need to get the relevant details on how this has happened ... We need to check if the conditions required by importing countries were met and if our regulations were met,” said the official, who declined to be named as he was not authorised to speak to media.

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MDH and Everest did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Spices Board decision.

Earlier on Tuesday, Everest said in a statement that its spices were safe for consumption and its products were exported “only after receiving necessary clearances and approval from the laboratories of the Spice Board of India.”

Singapore had only held one of 60 Everest products for checks, Rajiv Shah, a director at Everest, said in the statement.

MDH has yet to comment on the matter.

Authorities in Hong Kong and Singapore have said the products contain high levels of ethylene oxide, which is unfit for human consumption, with long exposure a cancer risk. REUTERS