MDH Masala and Everest Food Brands BANNED in Hong Kong

MDH Masala brands and Everest Food Products Pvt. Ltd. products have been banned in Hong Kong. The decision came soon after Singapore banned these two products.

The reason for this prohibition is said to be the detection of the carcinogenic pesticide ethylene oxide in several spice mixes.

A few weeks ago, the Centre for Food Safety of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region declared that routine surveillance programmes had uncovered the addition of "ethylene oxide" in three spice mixes from MDH Group—Madras Curry Powder, Sambhar Masala Powder, and Curry Powder. On the other hand, Everest Group's Fish Curry Masala was found unhealthy as it contained the pesticide, which possesses serious health risks.

The statement reads:

"The CFS collected the above-mentioned samples from three retail outlets in Tsim Sha Tsui respectively, for testing under its routine Food Surveillance Programme. The test results showed that the samples contained a pesticide, ethylene oxide. The CFS has informed the vendors concerned of the irregularities and instructed them to stop sales and remove from shelves the affected products."