'No possibility of salmonella in LG Asafoetida'

The 120-year-old Laljee Godhoo & Co. makers of the popular LG Asafoetida, a spice used in Indian cooking, on Saturday categorically refuted the possibility of presence of Salmonella bacteria in its product packs sold in India or elsewhere as they are tested without fail.

"There is no possibility of presence of salmonella in the packs sold in India or anywhere else as each lot of our finished products is tested without fail," partner Heena Merchant told IANS.

"In view of the above we are not planning to make any recalls of our products," she said.

The US Food and Drugs Administration (USFDA) on January 7, 2016 said Shakti Group, USA LLC of New Brunswick, NJ is recalling 50 gm and 100 gm sizes of LG Compounded Asafoetida powder, both coded with Lot Number: 2323 as it has the potential to be contaminated with salmonella, which causes fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain in those infected.

Merchant said that each lot of their finished product is tested at Pilot House, a government approved laboratory.

"We have not received any complaints regarding salmonella and hence the question of identifying the source of salmonella has not arisen so far. Our firm is 120 years old and is known for its consistent good quality products, used for generations," she said.

Sharing the copy of the test report for the Lot Number 2323 with IANS, Merchant said the report categorically states Salmonella is absent in the sample.

"We take a sample from the bulk and send it for testing. Once the test report is satisfactory the product is packed in different sized packs," she said.

According to her, the US based Shakti group is not connected with Laljee Godho & Co in any matter whatsoever, and the company's exports happen through export houses and not directly.

Nearly eight percent of the company's Rs.217 crore turnover last year was from exports.

LG brand asafoetida is the market leader in the segment in the country.