In a major regulatory action aimed at ensuring public safety and consumer welfare, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has issued Prohibition of Sale orders for Compounded Hing (Asafoetida) manufactured by two prominent Indian spice giants—M/s Everest Food Products Private Limited and M/s Laljee Godhoo and Company (LG Brand Unit). The regulatory crackdown follows extensive testing that revealed multiple product batches fell significantly short of prescribed food safety standards.
How the Quality Investigation Began
The nation-wide regulatory intervention was triggered by a specific consumer complaint regarding the quality of Compounded Hing available in the retail market. Prompted by the initial complaint, the FSSAI launched a broader market surveillance drive across major spice manufacturers. As part of this initiative, central enforcement officers collected legal samples directly from the centrally licensed manufacturing facilities of Everest and LG in Mumbai.
To ensure comprehensive compliance monitoring, the FSSAI also coordinated with the Gujarat State FDA for a joint inspection and sampling operation at Everest’s manufacturing plant in Umbergaon, Gujarat. Laboratory testing across these legal samples subsequently confirmed that the Compounded Hing produced by both companies failed to meet legal quality benchmarks.
Specific Quality Deficiencies Found in Laboratory Tests
Under the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Additives) Regulations, 2011, Compounded Hing is an allowable food item prepared by blending Raw Hing with edible starches, flours, and Gum Arabic. Regulations mandate that the finished product must contain a sufficient quantity of Raw Hing to guarantee a minimum of 5% alcohol-soluble extract. However, official laboratory analyses showed that the samples from Everest and LG contained merely 0% to 3% alcohol-soluble extract. This indicates a 30% to 40% reduction in the required quantity of genuine Raw Hing.
Furthermore, testing conducted on Raw Hing samples at LG’s Mumbai facility uncovered severe non-compliance. While FSSAI regulations restrict the maximum permissible starch content in Raw Hing to just 1%, test reports revealed alarmingly high starch levels ranging between 15% and 32% across six different Raw Hing varieties. Additionally, these samples failed to meet the mandatory 12% minimum threshold for alcohol-soluble extract in raw ingredients.
Prohibition Orders Issued and Voluntary Recall Requested
Following the conclusive laboratory test reports confirming non-compliance, the FSSAI formally issued Prohibition of Sale orders to both Everest Food Products Private Limited and Laljee Godhoo and Company in Mumbai. The apex food safety regulator specified that the administrative ban serves as a preventive step to protect public health and maintain consumer trust in everyday food products.
The authority has formally instructed both food business operators to submit detailed action plans demonstrating how they intend to rectify their processing methods to ensure strict adherence to quality norms. Furthermore, the FSSAI has advised both manufacturers to initiate a voluntary recall of all substandard Compounded Hing batches currently sitting on retail store shelves and distribution networks across the country.
