Immunologist: “New alarm about contaminated spices from India, they are safe in Italy”

An alarm about spices comes from India. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (Fssai), the Indian government body that deals with food regulation, is investigating the presence of toxic substances in spices produced by local companies. The risk is that there could be ethyl oxide, a pesticide considered highly carcinogenic. “In 2020, a series of warnings released by the European Rasff (Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed) system had pre-alerted European countries about the entry into the Old Continent of some foods contaminated by ethylene oxide. Today the issue arises again for products based on sesame, but also on herbs and other spices from India, in which high values ​​of this gas would have been detected”. Making the point for Adnkronos Salute is Mauro Minelli, immunologist and professor of Fundamentals of dietetics and nutrition at Lum University.

On the return of the alarm for ethylene oxide, “while considering the monitoring action which, to guarantee the health of the consumer, the relevant bodies are called upon to carry out to ensure that food substances always comply with the health and safety standards, it must however always be reiterated, in circumstances like this, the need not to generalize, perhaps limiting, in this case, the call for caution only to Indian productions also marketed in Europe under the Mdh and Everest brands”.

“As if to say, in other words, that not all spices are the same and that the majority of spices consumed in the world are to be considered safe when of high quality, stored correctly, preferably in airtight containers and protected from light and heat. humidity, and in any case used in moderate quantities – suggests the immunologist – it will be up to them to pay attention to the origin of the spices they purchase and consume, considering, among other things, the relevance which is far from marginal than in ours. The country has always had the cultivation of spices and aromatic herbs, an element of great value in the Italian culinary tradition.”