Patanjali Foods told to recall batch of red chilli powder for violation of safety norms

Patanjali Foods on Thursday said that the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India has ordered the company to recall a batch of packed red chilli powder as it did not comply with safety norms.

The food safety regulator issued the order to recall an entire batch of red chilli powder on January 13, and the company received the order on January 16, the firm said in a regulatory filing. The batch allegedly failed to comply with the Food Safety and Standards (Contaminants, Toxins and Residues) Regulations, 2011.

The nature of the violations found was not immediately clear.

Patanjali Foods, a fast-moving consumer goods brand, is a part of the Patanjali Ayurved conglomerate headed by yoga guru Ramdev.

In April, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India had begun collecting samples of powdered spices from all brands across the country to check their quality.

This came after Hong Kong and Singapore raised alarm over the presence of ethylene oxide in the products sold by powdered spice manufacturers Everest and MDH.

On April 5, Hong Kong’s Centre for Food Safety banned the sale of and recalled MDH Madras Curry Powder, MDH Sambhar Masala, MDH Curry Powder and Everest Fish Curry Masala. This came after samples were found to contain ethylene oxide, a pesticide.

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