Buying Spices? Be Aware Of This New FSSAI Rule on Controversial Pesticide Order

A recent notification by India’s Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) significantly enhancing permissible limits of pesticide content in spices has stirred anxieties among public health experts and environmentalists alike.

FSSAI has increased key pesticides' maximum residue limits (MRLs) by 5 to 10 times the previous thresholds in essential spices like pepper, cardamom, cumin, ginger, and cinnamon. For example, MRLs for the widely used organophosphate pesticide chlorpyrifos have been hiked from 0.01 parts per million (PPM) to 0.5 PPM in black pepper.

Likewise, limits for the herbicide glyphosate in ginger have been scaled up from 0.05 PPM to 1 PPM. Farm union bodies, though, have welcomed the move to align domestic regulations with global standards, claiming this would ease spice exports.

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What Are The Health Implications Of FSSAI’s Controversial Pesticide Order?

• Pesticides, despite enabling agricultural productivity, carry well-established risks of bioaccumulation within human bodies upon excessive exposure. Chlorpyrifos, for instance, remains classified by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) as “likely to be carcinogenic,” having links with lung cancer, brain damage, and developmental disorders.

• Regulatory experts argue that FSSAI’s 100-fold MRL enhancement for chlorpyrifos in key spices contradicts its statutory objective of ensuring the safety of Indian consumers.

• Higher tolerance thresholds could promote excessive spraying by farmers chasing better crop yields, risking contamination of India’s culinary staples.

• Aflatoxins in spices like red chilli powder have already wreaked havoc in the past. The latest dilution of pesticide norms, despite a lack of adequate testing infrastructure, poses more health hazards, warns activists.

• Regular dietary ingestion of pesticide residues through spices can impact kidney functions, hormonal activity, and respiratory health over the long term.

• FSSAI, though, defends its move, claiming revised limits match global benchmarks set by bodies like the European Union (EU) and the Codex Alimentarius Commission.

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What Are The FSSAI Standards for Spices?

FSSAI rules comprise a specific standard for spices to ensure that they stay pure and safe. Some of the key FSSAI standards are:

• Purity: Species should be free from any form of malpractice, such as mixing artificial colouring, chemicals, etc., that might attack their purity.
• Maximum Residual Limits (MRLs): FSSAI has set a certain limit on the residue of pesticides used in spices so that the spices remain safe for consumption.
• Check for toxins: FSSAI rules mandate the testing for toxins such as aflatoxins, which aren’t good for spices.
• Packaging: Spices are to be labelled and packaged with the name of the product, ingredients, net weight, expiry date, and related information to the FSSAI rules.

Conclusion

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is a crucial body in the domain of cooking, which ensures that all the spices supplied follow the standard protocol set by the authority for the safety and security of consumers.

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