The overseas controversy over the presence of carcinogenic pesticide in two popular Indian spice brands presents another reminder of the poor standards of the country’s foods and drugs regulation. Earlier this week, Hong Kong and Singapore, two geographies with substantial Indian populations, banned the sale of spice brands MDH and Everest. The ban followed a report from Hong Kong’s Centre for Food Safety, highlighting the presence of ethylene oxide in three spice mixes from MDH and one from Everest as part of a routine surveillance exercise. This is not the first time that Indian food brands have been hauled up