Food Safety and Standards Authority of India on Sunday ordered immediate recall of a batch of Everest pre-packed cumin powder after a regulatory sample was found to contain pesticide residues above prescribed limits and declared “unsafe.”
In a separate action, the regulator also suspended the licence of Creative Bakers and Confectioners Pvt Ltd – which operates the retail chain The Sugarr & Spice across several outlets in Eastern India – with immediate effect over serious hygiene, sanitation and food safety violations. The FSSAI has, over the past six months, stepped up enforcement actions, and relays them to the food business operators and the public through its official handles on social media platforms. Ltd., Goa. It added that the food business operator (FBO), in this case Everest, was provided an opportunity to appeal against the report, following which the sample was referred to the Referral Food Laboratory. Following this, the entire batch of the product was directed to be recalled immediately from the market, and Everest was ordered to “maintain complete records of the recalled product and submit the prescribed recall information and status reports within the stipulated timelines.
In a notification on Sunday, the FSSAI said a regulatory sample of Everest’s “pre-packed cumin powder” was drawn from the premises of M/s Riverside Resorts & Holiday Homes Pvt. The Food Analyst’s report of this sample found the product to have pesticide residues of Azoxystrobin and Thiamethoxam at levels exceeding the prescribed maximum limit, it said. “The Food Analyst declared the sample “UNSAFE” under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006,” the FSSAI said. “The Referral Food Laboratory confirmed that the sample was “UNSAFE”, as Azoxystrobin and Thiamethoxam were found above the prescribed maximum limits,” the food safety regulator stated. In its notification about the suspension of licence of Creative Bakers and Confectioners Pvt Ltd, the FSSAI flagged “severe hygiene and sanitation deficiencies”, including “dirt, grease, dust, cobwebs and flies in food production and handling areas.”
