The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has directed Everest Food Products Pvt Ltd to recall a specific batch of its pre-packed cumin powder after two laboratory assessments found pesticide residues above the prescribed maximum limits.
The recall applies only to Batch No. E080668761 and is not a product-wide recall.
The regulatory action followed the testing of a sample collected from the premises of Riverside Resorts & Holiday Homes Pvt Ltd in Goa.
Testing by the Food Analyst detected residues of two pesticides — azoxystrobin and thiamethoxam — at levels exceeding the prescribed maximum residue limits (MRLs). The sample was consequently classified as “unsafe” under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.
The food business operator was given an opportunity to challenge the initial findings. Following the appeal, the sample was examined by a Referral Food Laboratory.
The second laboratory also classified the sample as unsafe and confirmed that residues of both pesticides exceeded the permitted limits.
Pesticide residues can remain on agricultural commodities when pesticides are used during cultivation or when controls on their application, pre-harvest intervals or residue levels are not adequately maintained.
Maximum residue limits are established to control the amount of pesticide residue that may legally remain in food. Detection above the prescribed limit can therefore trigger regulatory action, including product withdrawal or recall.
Consumers who may have purchased the affected batch should check the batch number on the packaging before using the product.
Following confirmation from the Referral Food Laboratory, FSSAI ordered the entire implicated batch to be withdrawn from the market.
Everest Food Products has also been directed to:
Consumers should not use Everest cumin powder from Batch No. E080668761 if they have the affected product. Retailers and food businesses should also stop selling, serving or distributing the recalled batch and follow the applicable recall instructions.
The action is limited to the identified batch; therefore, consumers should verify the batch number rather than assuming that all Everest cumin powder products are affected.
The recall comes more than two years after Everest faced separate regulatory scrutiny overseas.
In April 2024, the Singapore Food Agency ordered a recall of Everest Fish Curry Masala after authorities in Hong Kong detected ethylene oxide above the permitted level in the product. That incident involved a different Everest product and a different contaminant from the pesticide-residue issue behind the current cumin powder recall.
Source: FSSAI India