HYDERABAD: Britain’s food watchdog has applied extra control measures on all spice imports from India, it said on Wednesday, becoming the first to ramp up scrutiny of all Indian spices after contamination allegations against two brands sparked concerns among global food regulators.
Hong Kong last month suspended sales of three spice blends produced by MDH and one by Everest, saying they contained high levels of a cancer-causing pesticide ethylene oxide.
Singapore also ordered a recall of the Everest mix, and New Zealand, the United States, India and Australia have since said they are looking into issues related to the two brands.
MDH and Everest — two of India’s most popular brands — have said their products are safe for consumption.
In the most stringent crackdown so far impacting all Indian spices, the UK’s Food Standards Agency (FSA) said that in light of the concerns it has “applied extra control measures for pesticide residues in spices from India which includes ethylene oxide.”
The agency did not elaborate on the exact steps it is taking.
“The use of ethylene oxide is not allowed here and maximum residue levels are in place for herbs and spices,” James Cooper, Deputy Director of Food Policy at the FSA, said in a statement to Reuters.
“If there is any unsafe food or food on the market, the FSA will take rapid action to ensure consumers are protected.”
India’s Spices Board, which regulates exports, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
India is the biggest exporter, consumer and producer of spices in the world.
In 2022 Britain imported $128 million worth of spices, with India accounting for almost $23 million, data from the Observatory of Economic Complexity website shows.
MDH and Everest export their products to many regions including the US, Europe, South East Asia, Middle East and Australia.
UK tightens scrutiny of all Indian spice imports amid contamination allegations
https://arab.news/4zsgs
UK tightens scrutiny of all Indian spice imports amid contamination allegations
- Hong Kong last month suspended sales of three spice blends produced by MDH and one by Everest
- Singapore ordered a recall of Everest mix, New Zealand, US India, Australia also looking into issues
Islamist militants show ‘unprecedented coordination’ in Burkina Faso attacks
- The assaults were on several towns in the north and east including Bilanga, Titao, Tandjari and Nare
- The operations targeted military detachments, civilian convoys and market areas
DAKAR: Islamist militants have killed dozens of soldiers and civilians and overrun an army detachment over the past week in coordinated attacks across multiple regions of Burkina Faso, according to internal reports by two diplomatic missions reviewed by Reuters.
The operations by Al Qaeda–linked Jama’at Nusrat Al-Islam wal-Muslimin show the JNIM is increasingly able to mobilize across large swathes of territory at one time, said the reports, which described a list of locations and places that came under assault.
Burkina Faso’s military rulers seized power in a coup in 2022, promising to improve security. But militants’ attacks have increased in the West African country as state forces battle an insurgency that has spread across the Sahel from Mali.
The assaults were on several towns in the north and east including Bilanga, Titao, Tandjari and Nare, the diplomatic reports said. One also described an assault in the eastern city of Fada N’Gourma and flagged another in the northern Ouahigouya area.
“These attacks, which were almost simultaneous and spread across several provinces, demonstrate unprecedented coordination between militants and the junta’s inability to contain the assaults,” said one of the internal reports, which put the death toll at more than 180.
The other gave no toll but said the incidents appeared coordinated and involved several hundred militants serving JNIM and possibly Daesh affiliates.
The operations targeted military detachments, civilian convoys and market areas, it said.
JNIM has said it killed scores of troops from the Burkinabe army in attacks in the past week, US-based SITE Intelligence Group said on Monday.
Burkina authorities did not respond to a request for comment on the assaults or casualty reports.
INJURED GHANAIANS RETURN HOME
In the northern town of Titao, militants attacked an army base and set a market on fire, the internal reports said.
Nearly 80 soldiers and pro-government militia members were killed, one said. The other said about 10 civilians were killed there.
The dead civilians included eight tomato traders, Ghana’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday.
SITE quoted a media unit for JNIM as saying the insurgents had seized military vehicles, guns and other possessions in the assaults. More than a decade of insurgencies in the Sahel has displaced millions and engendered economic collapse, with violence pushing further south toward West Africa’s coast.
JNIM claimed nearly 500 attacks in Burkina Faso in 2025 and nearly 300 in Mali, SITE’s director, Rita Katz, said in a social media post on LinkedIn.
