EU team to visit India in October to inspect groundnut units

After rejecting 50-odd Indian groundnut consignments, a European Union team is planning to visit India during the first week of October to confirm whether domestic traders are complying with the EU standards while exporting groundnut.     

"A EU team is coming to India during the first week of October to check the quality standards and compliance of groundnut processing for human consumption and bird feed," a senior official with the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) told PTI.     

The team will visit couple of groundnut processing units in Gujarat, the state which exports maximum quantity of groundnut in the country, he said.     

The EU has rejected over 50 consignments of groundnut both kernel and processed products in the last six months on the ground of high content of aflatoxin. It has also raised red alerts on its website asking exporters to take the consignment back.     

According to agri-scientists, aflatoxin, which are toxic substances produced by certain fungus, is a serious quality problem in groundnut. A very small amount of aflatoxin in feed can lead to cancer in young animals.     

"The quality norms are getting stringent in the EU, which imports maximum groundnut from India for feed purpose," Indian Oilseeds and Produce Export Promotional Council (IOPEPC) Chairman Sanjay Shah said.

"We are creating awareness about aflatoxin to all concerned parties and asked them to upgrade and maintain quality as per EU standards," he said.     

According to industry estimate, India sells annually over 40,000 tonnes of groundnut to the EU, while total exports of groundnut are estimated to be three lakh tonnes.