Meet to set global standards for spices

The International Organisation of Spice Trade Associations (IOSTA) will be meeting in Munich, Germany, on June 20 to set global standards on the quality of spices and spice-based products.

The meeting is taking place in the backdrop of problems faced by spices exporters because of a lack of uniform global standards. International trade in spices has been hampered as a result of each country having its own standards. The American Spice Trade Association (ASTA), one of the oldest organisation in the spices trade, has taken an initiative to revive and revamp the IOSTA.

The global body, which was set up six years ago, has been inactive since 2005. The European Spice Association, the Spices Board of India and the All India Spices Exporters Forum (AISEF) and trade bodies of Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Malaysia will be attending the meet.

Efforts are on to persuade spices organisations in China and Vietnam to join the IOSTA. According to Sushma Sreekantath, chairperson of the AISEF, the agenda for the Munich meet will be to draw up global standards for spices and get in representatives of spices trading nations aboard the IOSTA.

"Quality standards such as the level of pesticide residues varies across the world. The meeting will adopt methodologies that include field trials, data collection and other internationally accepted tools to set up uniform and practical global standards, " said Sreekantath.