The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) on Saturday prohibited the sale of compounded asafoetida (hing) manufactured by Everest Food Products and Laljee Godhoo and Company, after laboratory tests found samples to be sub-standard and non-compliant of the prescribed quality standards.
For Everest, samples were found to have alcohol soluble extract at 0%, against the prescribed minimum limit of 5%. Its yellow and black hing samples recorded 3.29% and 4.4%, respectively. FSSAI said similar non-compliance was found in surveillance samples collected from various sources.
The regulator also cited earlier compliance reviews of Everest products, including chicken masala, garam masala and egg curry powder, which had flagged issues including non-declaration of salt and spice content.
In case of Laljee Godhoo, six varieties of raw hing used by the company were also found to contain 15%-32% starch, against the permitted maximum limit of 1%.
The regulator said the non-compliances were considered pervasive across batches based on market surveillance, legal sampling and testing of raw materials. The sale of compounded hing by both companies has been prohibited with immediate effect until further orders.
FSSAI has directed the firms to submit action plans to rectify the violations and ensure compliance with food safety standards. The manufacturers have also been advised to voluntarily recall sub-standard products already in the market.