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As a result, the marketing of sesame seeds and other foods containing contaminated sesame seeds has been banned in the last months of this year, and more than 300 such cases have been reported across the EU. For this reason, in Lithuania the trade of more than 1,500 kg of various food products was banned.
The first information on detected levels of ethylene oxide exceeding the permitted levels (0.05 mg / kg) was published in the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) of the European Commission in early September this year. Contaminated sesame seeds have been found to be primarily of Indian origin.
According to the information received, the SFVS issued mandatory instructions to companies that imported, marketed or produced products with contaminated sesame seeds to immediately stop using and selling these products, to recover the distributed products from suppliers and consumers and destroy them.
Ethylene oxide has been used in India as a disinfectant, mainly to inhibit bacterial growth by storing sesame seeds. This may have been a common practice for several years, as ethylene oxide was a fairly popular means of protecting stored products in many non-EU countries.
Ethylene oxide is a chemical classified as a Group 1 carcinogen and can cause a variety of cancers. This substance is harmful when used continuously for long periods. Therefore, there are strict residue limits in the EU for this substance in food, i.e. the maximum residue level for this pesticide cannot exceed 0.05 mg / kg. Furthermore, these substances must not be present in plant protection products used in Europe.
Starting in October this year, new requirements came into effect that only shipments of sesame seeds from India that have been tested for ethylene oxide residues can be imported into the EU, and the test results must meet with the requirements of EU legislation.
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