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FSSAI denies allowing higher limits for pesticides in spices & herbs
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Tuesday, 07 May, 2024, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Ashwani Maindola, New Delhi
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Amid controversy over Indian spice brands, the FSSAI has denied reports of allowing higher limits for pesticides in food products, particularly, spices and herbs.
The national food regulator has called such media reports claiming FSSAI has allowed higher limits for pesticides as 'false and malicious'.
The media reports came in when Singaporean and Hong Kong authorities had banned two of Indian spice brands for alleged violation of standards for contaminants.
FSSAI, in a statement, has said that India has one of the most strict standards on maximum residue levels (MRLs) of contaminants like pesticides based on proper risk assessment done by its scientific panels.
The FSSAI statement added that pesticide regulation in India falls under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (MoA and FW), which operates through the Central Insecticide Board and Registration Committee (CIB and RC).
Further, the FSSAI’s Scientific Panel on Pesticides Residues works closely with the CIB and RC, analysing data to recommend appropriate MRLs after comprehensive risk assessments.
To date, the CIB and RC has registered over 295 pesticides, with 139 of these approved specifically for use in spices and oversees the manufacturing, import, transportation, and storage of pesticides, along with their registration, banning, or restriction.
FSSAI has said that default MRL of 0.01 mg/kg has been in place for pesticides without specified limits, which has been raised to 0.1 mg/kg only for spices and solely applies to pesticides not registered in India by the CIB and RC.
Furthermore, the limits are revised and adjusted in accordance to new evidences and global best practices.
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