One In Three Household Consumers Likely To Refrain From Buying MDH, Everest Spices: Survey

Given the recent quality check cases against MDH and Everest, one in three household consumers are likely to refrain from buying their spices, while six in 10 say actions of FSSAI and state food departments on the matter so far don’t instill any confidence, according to a survey by LocalCircles—a leading community social media platform.

The central government via FSSAI has asked MDH and Everest to take “corrective measures”, weeks after spices produced by these companies were found to allegedly contain high levels of pesticide ethylene oxide beyond permissible limits. To investigate the recall, the Spice Board of India is reported to be testing spice samples of these two companies.

Late last week, Nepal followed Singapore and Hong Kong in banning sales of some mixed spice products of these two companies. The US Food and Drug Administration is also investigating products from the two popular brands for potentially containing the pesticide, Reuters has reported citing an FDA spokesperson.

To gauge the consumer pulse on the issue, LocalCircles has conducted a follow-on survey to find out from households about their changing consumptions of these brands and whether they are satisfied with the actions of FSSAI and the state food department.

The survey received over 27,000 responses from household consumers, located in 306 districts of India. 61% respondents were men, while 39% were women. 40% respondents were from tier-1 cities, while 27% were from tier-2 cities, and 33% respondents were from tier-3, 4 and rural districts.

The survey was conducted via LocalCircles platform and all participants were validated citizens who had to be registered with LocalCircles to participate in this survey.

As per the survey, 36% of consumers of MDH and Everest Spices are likely to refrain from buying spices of the two brands in the near future. However, 17% of consumers are likely to continue buying despite the safety issues surrounding these brands.

Around 58% consumers surveyed say the food regulator's actions so far have not instilled any confidence about food safety, while 28% stated that they are unaware of what actions have been taken so far.

Less than five states out of 30 in India have become active in auditing food manufacturing units and restaurants since the spice issue came to light.

It is unfortunate that even as other countries strive to take action to protect their consumers by ensuring that all edible products are safe to consume, authorities in India are extremely slow to respond, the respondents said.

If one goes by the feedback of food business owners (manufacturing food products or restaurants) on LocalCircles, the process of food licencing, audit and enforcement is ridden with bribery and misgovernance in several parts of India, with the use of agents or middlemen for many activities.

FSSAI, as the central food regulator, may need to consider operating on the lines of a centralised system—like the passport office—instead of relying on state food departments, who do not have a direct reporting line to the FSSAI, the respondents said. Till that happens and food safety reforms are undertaken in India, the consumer trust in food will continue to be at a low level.