Banned or restricted substance
Is argemone oil banned in India?
Last checked 21 September 2026
Argemone oil is a prohibited contaminant in edible oils in India under the FSS (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Regulations, 2011, and mustard oil containing it may not be sold; it has caused repeated outbreaks of epidemic dropsy.
- Classification
- Prohibited (Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006)
- Decided by
- Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI)
- Reference
- Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Regulations, 2011
- Latest action
- 1 August 1998
- Last checked
- 21 September 2026
Photo: A box full of burfis, Mithai Indian Sweets London November 2009.jpg by secretlondon123 (CC BY-SA 2.0). All photo credits.
Safe here, banned there: what India's food regulations actually say
Our team has checked this record against the published reports, last on 21 September 2026. The government order itself is not published online, or we have not found it yet, so we link the best public report. If you have the order, send it to us and we will link it instead.
Scope. A record here does not by itself mean a product or company is unsafe or banned today. Regulatory actions can apply to one batch, one formulation, one period or one state. Always check the linked government document for the current position, and tell us if something is out of date. How we label records.
Below: Blacklisted's explanationWe explain what has been reported. The report above is the best source we hold.
Key facts
- Source
- Seeds of Argemone mexicana (prickly poppy), which resemble mustard seed and grow as a weed in mustard fields
- Toxin
- Sanguinarine, causing epidemic dropsy, oedema, glaucoma, heart failure
- Legal basis
- FSS (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Regulations, 2011
- Notable outbreak
- Delhi, 1998, dozens of deaths; led to the 1998 ban on loose mustard oil sale
- Test
- Nitric acid test turns argemone-contaminated oil red-brown (FSSAI DART)
Argemone mexicana, the prickly poppy, grows as a weed in Indian mustard fields, and its seeds look enough like mustard seed to be crushed with it, deliberately or by accident. The resulting oil contains sanguinarine, an alkaloid that causes epidemic dropsy: swelling of the limbs, breathlessness, raised eye pressure and, in severe cases, heart failure. India has recorded outbreaks for a century, the worst in Delhi in 1998, which killed dozens and prompted a national crackdown on loose mustard oil.
The Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Regulations, 2011 prohibit the sale of edible oils containing argemone oil; the exact clause is to be confirmed for this record. The standards for mustard oil separately require it to be free of argemone, so contaminated oil fails on two counts.
FSSAI's DART booklet describes a household nitric-acid test, and state laboratories screen mustard oil for argemone routinely. The prohibition applies to a contaminant rather than to a brand or product, and enforcement targets oil mills and loose-oil sellers. Packaged oil from licensed manufacturers is the practical safeguard.
What this means for you
Buy packed, branded mustard oil
Loose oil is where adulteration is found. Packed oil from a licensed manufacturer is tested for argemone.
Know the symptoms
Swelling of the legs, breathlessness and eye pressure after a change of cooking oil are the signs doctors look for.
This is a record of official orders, not medical advice. Do not stop a prescribed medicine without asking your doctor or pharmacist.
Official sources and primary records
- News