The SBS Punjabi Radio team sent 18 products purchased at Indian Specialty stores across greater Melbourne to the National Measurement Institute, a food testing lab accredited by the National Association of Testing Authorities.
The tests revealed two instances of products which failed Australian food safety standards and one instance of a completely banned food that is somehow slipping through Australian customs checks on food imports:
Kohinoor brand basmati rice found to contain Buprofezin, an insecticide banned in Australia.
Popular Indian spice brand MDH found to contain pesticides above the accepted Australian limit.
Banned substance Betel Nut readily available for sale in Australia
In addition to products that failed to meet FSANZ (Food Standards Australia New Zealand) standards, at least four other products were identified that could be considered unsafe. Whilst these products cannot be called non-compliant according to the Australian food standards, experts have raised concerns about them due to the levels of lead, copper and insecticide residues:
Cerelac - a baby cereal produced by Nestlé
Complan - a powdered milk drink for growing children manufactured by Heinz in India
Indus Basmati - a rice from Pakistan
Verka Ghee - a clarified butter widely used by South Asians in their daily cooking.
SBS found that such lapses in standards may be the result of systemic failings in product regulation, including:
Inadequate or misleading labelling of expiry dates leading to the sale of products well beyond recommended consumption periods.
Products recalled overseas for safety reasons can easily remain on sale in Australia due to issues in regulating parallel imports.
Only five per cent of packaged food imports to Australia are tested.
Australia’s standards found to be lower than comparable markets – with the USA rejecting many food products that are deemed acceptable for Australian import.
Local councils are responsible for enforcement of food safety regulations, and often only take action if a complaint is filed.
