Thousands of foods withdrawn from market,but ethylene oxide risk for consumers is low

Sesame seeds from India main source of food scare 

Sesame is a widely used ingredient in the food industry for bakery, biscuits, confectionery, snacks, health foods and ethnic foods. Thousands of these foods have been withdrawn from the market due to the presence in imported sesame foods of ethylene oxide, banned in the EU.

The ethylene oxide food scare has continued in March, with more than ten alerts in the EU of the contaminant posing a serious threat in foods.

Banned in Europe in 1981 due to the risks from its toxicity, ethylene oxide has been found in thousands of foods, with the contamination mostly traced back to sesame seeds imported from India.