After ordering suspension of import from India of rapeseed and oilmeal, after detecting traces of malachite green contamination in shipments, a team from the Chinese General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) is set to inspect vegetable oil processing units in this country next month.

Over the past six months, Chinese authorities have discovered 0.5-1 parts per billion of such contamination (equivalent to around one seed in every 1,000 million) in consignments.

“Acting on the complaints by the Chinese authority, we discovered its source as the green ink used for marking on jute bags. We immediately directed all players in the industry to avoid using jute bags and to not accept any parcel marked with green ink,” said B V Mehta, executive director, the Solvent Extractors’ Association (SEA), the apex trade body with 850 members.

SEA and the Export Inspection Council of India had jointly conducted a survey last month to determine the probable source of the malachite green contamination. The Chinese authority is not satisfied with the response, Mehta added. Surprised over the ban decision, an Indian exporter said, “It has no basis at all. The oilmeal import ban by China is a response to India’s decision to suspend milk and milk products’ import from China.” China withdrew permission for rapeseed meal and soybean meal import from India from this month. Japan, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Russia, Canada and Australia are likely to grab the Indian share of these exports.

Malachite green is a synthetic dye used to colour silk, wool, jute and leather and is not permissible for any directly consumable commodities. Ideally, on needs Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points-certification. This indicates the food processing unit is maintaining all safety standards required to produce world-class products or ingredients.

However, say industry sources, none of the 1,500 units in the entire value chain, including crushing, processing and solvent extraction plants, are certified by HACCP. Since oilmeal is not consumed directly by any human being, no such certification is required, said an analyst. Indian traders supply rapeseed meal and soybean meal worth Rs 600 crore annually for export.