SRINAGAR: The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has prohibited the sale of Compounded Hing manufactured by M/s Everest Food Products Private Limited and M/s Laljee Godhoo and Company (LG Brand Unit) after laboratory tests found multiple samples to be substandard.
The action followed a consumer complaint concerning the quality of Compounded Hing, after which the FSSAI undertook market surveillance covering major brands. Initial laboratory reports indicated quality deficiencies in products manufactured by the two companies.
The FSSAI subsequently collected legal samples from the centrally licensed manufacturing units of Everest Food Products and the LG Brand Unit in Mumbai and sent them for testing. It also conducted a joint inspection and sampling operation with the Gujarat State FDA at Everest’s state-licensed unit in Umbergaon, Gujarat. The primary laboratory found all legal samples of Compounded Hing collected during these operations to be substandard.
Under the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011, Compounded Hing is permitted to be made by blending Raw Hing with ingredients including gum Arabic, starches and flours. The regulations require sufficient Raw Hing to ensure at least five per cent alcohol soluble extract in the finished product.
However, laboratory tests found alcohol soluble extract levels of only 0-3 per cent in the tested Compounded Hing samples, below the prescribed minimum of five per cent.
The FSSAI also tested six varieties of Raw Hing collected from the LG Brand Unit in Mumbai. While the permissible starch content in Raw Hing is capped at one per cent, laboratory analysis found starch levels ranging from 15 per cent to 32 per cent in all six varieties, rendering them substandard. Raw Hing is also required to contain at least 12 per cent alcohol soluble extract under the applicable standards.
In view of the non-compliance detected across multiple batches, the FSSAI issued Prohibition of Sale orders against Everest Food Products Private Limited, Mumbai, and the LG Brand Unit, Mumbai, as a preventive measure to protect public health and consumer interests.
The food business operators have been directed to submit comprehensive action plans outlining corrective measures to address the violations and ensure compliance with prescribed standards. They have also been advised to voluntarily recall substandard products already available in the market.
