![]() ![]() A report from the EU Reference Laboratory for Residues of Pesticides states that it is unknown since when this practice have been started (3). Moreover, these high levels were not reported by an official institution, but by internal controls of private companies.Ĭonsidering the lack of control, it is unknown when the use of this pesticide began. In any case, it was a surprise to find such large quantities of ethylene oxide in Indian sesame seeds given that it was not used to fumigate food and crops for a long time in Europe. ![]() ![]() Ethylene oxide was one of them due to its use in the sterilization of medical devices and the difficulty to distinguish it from dichloroethanol, an allowed molecule that could be found naturally in some food. Despite this, the EU controls on imported food focused only on 176 of them2, leaving a huge amount of substances levels undetected. There are strict maximum residue levels for 907 of them. the general lack of controls on a large number of substances.Īccording to the report, the EU set regulation for 1 498 different active substances in food. the EU low budget on food safety controls, that is only 0.5 € per 1 000 € of imported food the unrandomized controls, which were based on a risk assessment and controlled more imported food from certain countries than others This report was centered around three main points: However, on the February 17th, the French Economic Affair Commission has published a report titled “Sesame seeds: new example of the ingenuity of the authorities on imported foodstuff”, accusing the EU imported food control system for lack of accuracy (2). According to the UK Food Standard Agency, ethylene oxide could be dangerous for human health only if it is consumed regularly for a long period of time and in massive quantities. ![]() or other microbial contamination in their products.Īs for the risks concerning consumer’s health, the UK Food Standard Agency indicated that there is no need for a full consumer recall of sesame seeds. Indian farmers use it to prevent Salmonella spp. Nevertheless, there are some countries such as India where this pesticide is still in use. More than 20% of all products with contaminated sesame seeds are labeled as organic.Įthylene oxide was used in Europe to decontaminate silos of crops until 1981, when it was removed because of concerns about its toxicity (1). Following, a long list of European countries - including Finland, Germany, Spain, Ireland, Poland, UK, Italy, and recently France - reported the same problem regarding sesame seeds imported from India. In September 2020, Belgium has found ethylene oxide levels thousands of times higher than the EU limit of 0.05 mg/kg. Given the prominence of baked goods in the EU, major concerns have been recently risen by members of the EU, regarding the high levels of ethylene oxide found in imported sesame seeds. This data manifests the idea of the diffusion of the ingredient, which is found to stand alone as a spice or as an ingredient in many bakery products, like bread, pretzels, and croissants. Every year, about 70 000 tons of sesame seeds are imported to Europe, and half of them are from India. ![]()
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