Spices industry wants uniform safety norms

Global consensus on practical and reasonable safety norms for spices is the need of the hour to help fuel growth of spices export and processing industry, industry representatives and scientists said.

They were speaking on harmonizing global food safety laws with particular reference to spices""the focus of the ninth World Spice Congress that concluded in Goa on Wednesday.

If flights can go from country to country without any changes, if cell phones can be used across boundaries without making modifications, then why do we have different standards across the world for food imports, said Sanjaya Mariwala, managing director, Kancor Ingredients Ltd, a Kochi-based spices processing and exporting firm.

The Goa congress' theme was particularly topical given that European Union had recently drafted a proposal calling for testing of 50 per cent of all spices imported into the region.

India's Spices Board, which already conducts tests and certification before allowing export, has taken exception to the EU scheme. "We have already expressed our disagreement with this proposal to the concerned EU authorities over the last couple of days, as we feel it will just lead to duplication and push up prices," said V. J. Kurian, chairman, Spices Board.

Elusive consensus
"We need legislation that will meet the demands of the industry and protect the consumer, not hurt trade," said Cheryl Deem, executive director, American Spice Trade Association.

Regulators should consult global industry before formulating new safety norms so that trade can flow freely across borders, said Sushama Srikandath, chairperson, All India Spices Exporters Forum.

Katrin Hoenicke, head analytical service manager, Eurofins Analytik Gmbh, was of the view that countries must agree on a global 'code of practice' for spice testing, so if the spice has been tested and effectively approved in country A, then it should be quickly accepted in country B.

"One batch of spices tested in different labs in the same country following the same norms can often produce diverse results because although the sampling procedure may be fixed, laboratories can apply their own methods for testing," Hoenicke said. This can often lead to false positive and negative results for contamination, she added.

International Organization of Spice Trade Associations is trying to come up with logical standards through discussions with CODEX""a global inter-governmental body that sets international food standards, they said.

In India, Food Safety and Standards Act (2006), which is yet to come into effect, is also aiming to create uniform laws for food produce at the domestic level.