No fresh cases of ETO reported after December 2020 by EU for Indian export of organic products: Official

No fresh cases of ethylene oxide (ETO) -- a cancer-causing pesticide -- were reported after December 2020 by the European Union for Indian export of organic products, an official said on Thursday.

Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), an arm of the commerce ministry, has taken a series of control measures for ETO residues in fresh fruits and vegetables, rice, pulses, and certified organic products destined to the EU, the official said.

As on date, there are 33 laboratories that have been authorised by APEDA for analysis of ETO in food products. 

Further, an online module has been operationalised since November 2021 for monitoring sampling and analysis for export of high-risk products.

In 2020-2021, notifications were issued by the EU on detection of this chemical primarily in organic sesame seeds with subsequent detections in Organic Amaranth, Flax seed, Psyllium Husk, Caraway, Quinoa, and Fenugreek.

Alerts and notifications were issued by the EU for conventional food products as well.

"After implementation of these measures, no fresh cases of ETO were reported after December 2020 by EU for organic shipments except for one irregularity notification in June 2023 in organic cumin, for which the certification body has been penalised and restrictions have been imposed on them," the official said.

The official added that constant vigil is being maintained to ensure integrity of India's organic export eco-system to ensure quality and safety of organic exports.Detection of such chemicals are taken "very seriously" by APEDA, which implements India's Organic Export Programme -- the NPOP (National Programme for Organic Production).

Earlier, based on the findings of the investigations, and considering the severity of the non- compliances, sanctions were imposed on 12 organic operators and six Certification Bodies.

Further, as an immediate measure, an advisory was issued by APEDA in November 2020 to all certification bodies to conduct risk assessment meticulously and to carry out additional inspections based on the identified risk.

The ETO presence was also flagged on certain Indian spices brands by Singapore and Hong Kong.Spices Board has said it will start mandatory testing of such consignments destined to these two countries.