New Delhi | The Supreme Court on Monday refused to examine a plea alleging contamination of cinnamon and toxic cassia being sold as the spice in Kerala.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta was hearing a plea challenging an August 2024 order of the Kerala High Court.

"This matter relates to contamination of spice. Cassia which is poisonous and is known to cause cancer is being sold in the guise of cinnamon," the petitioner's counsel said.

The bench said the high court had already issued necessary directions to the authorities in the matter.

"We are not going to monitor all this," the bench said.

The petitioner's counsel, however, underlined the ineptness of the authorities concerned in dealing with the issue.

"The high court has already issued necessary directions to the authorities," the bench and dismissed the plea.

The petitioner moved the the high court seeking the restriction of sale and ban on the import of the poisonous cassia, which he said was dangerous to human consumption as it contains lethal ingredients like cyanide and coumarin.

Before the high court, the counsel for the food safety commissioner said the authority had already issued directions to the commissioner of Food Safety of states and Union Territories and the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to conduct market surveillance drive to check prevalence of such alleged malpractices.

It came on high court's record that the authority to conduct awareness or awareness drives among food business operators and consumers to exercise more caution while selling or purchasing such food products.

It asked the authority concerned to consider and pass appropriate orders on the representations filed by the petitioner on the issue.

While disposing of the two pleas, the high court said the state authority would scrupulously follow the direction issued by the FSSAI to conduct market surveillance and to make aware food business operators and consumers to exercise more caution.