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ETO export rejections
What it is
Ethylene oxide is used as a fumigant to reduce microbial load in spices, but is banned or tightly limited as a residue in the EU, Hong Kong, Singapore and elsewhere. Detections trigger product recalls, consignment rejections and import alerts
Indian spice exports faced significant scrutiny after high-profile detections
Impact on industries
- A single detection can trigger recalls across multiple markets and damage the reputation of Indian spices generally, not just the exporter concerned
- The underlying problem is microbial load at the mandi stage, so the fix requires cleaning the supply chain rather than substituting one fumigant
- Spices Board export testing and FSSAI sampling raise the compliance floor, and steam sterilisation differentiates organised exporters from the informal trade
- Residue standards differ by destination, so exporters manage several regimes at once rather than one global standard