Indian spices have recently become a hot topic in Western society.
According to a Reuters report, last month, spices imported from India to Singapore and Hong Kong were found to contain excessive levels of ethylene oxide, a carcinogenic substance.
Shockingly, the spices with excessive ethylene oxide were not from small enterprises but from two of India’s largest spice giants, MDH and Everest.
As the issue has been brewing for some time, the UK, US, Australia, and New Zealand launched investigations this month.
The UK, in particular, took the most stringent measures, implementing additional inspections on all spices from India, not just those from MDH and Everest.
This indicates that the British have a deep understanding of Indian culture, which is not surprising given that the UK colonized India for nearly two centuries.
Why are Western countries paying such close attention to the spice issue in India? It may be related to the popularity of Indian cuisine in the West.
Indian food often gives the impression of being "admired from a distance but not for consumption."
The bright yellow color, sticky sauces, and buzzing flies make it challenging for some to eat, yet it’s undeniable that Indians have strong resistance to such conditions, unlike foreigners.
Therefore, while authentic Indian cuisine has difficulty spreading abroad, Indian spices are popular worldwide, especially in Western countries like the UK and the US. People are very fond of Indian spices.
After all, Columbus discovered the New World while searching for spices.
Westerners don’t handle food as delicately, so spices serve as a great cover. Add enough spices, and the food will taste good regardless of the ingredients.
However, each country has different tastes, and the spices Westerners like might not suit Indians.
Previously, people thought Indian food was unclean and avoided it. But now, even Indian spices have problems.
This is tricky because how can you cook without seasonings?
Thus, Western countries are taking this very seriously, even at the risk of hurting Indian sentiments, determined to thoroughly investigate.
In fact, this is not the first time Indian spices have had issues.
As early as 2013, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a report stating that common kitchen spices were a major cause of Salmonella poisoning.
The contamination rate of Indian spices in this report was 9%, second only to Mexican spices at 14%.
However, the US imports four times more spices from India than from Mexico. Hence, Indian spices pose a greater threat to Americans.
This report once caused panic among Americans regarding Indian spices, but over time, people forgot about it, and Indian spices returned to American kitchens.
Over a decade later, Indian spices, previously found to have excess Salmonella, are now found to have excess ethylene oxide.
It’s uncertain how long Westerners will remember this time.
However, four of the Five Eyes Alliance members have already taken action, making it unlikely that India will easily get through this.
Some institutions predict that in the coming months, India’s spice exports might drop by 40%. Last year, India exported $4 billion worth of spices, accounting for 12% of global spice exports.
A 40% drop would mean a loss of $1.6 billion in export revenue for India, which is not a small amount for a poor country like India.
Therefore, this incident is causing concern not only among Westerners but also among Indians.
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