100 delegates from 31 nations take part in session of committee of spices

As many as 109 delegates from 31 countries participated in a session of the Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs (CCSCH) which was held from January 29-February 2 in Kochi, the commerce ministry said on Saturday.

After the Covid-19 pandemic, CCSCH was the first session of this committee to be conducted physically.

In this session, quality standards for five spices -- small cardamom, turmeric, juniper berry, allpice and star anise -- were finalised.

CCSCH has forwarded these five standards to the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) recommending for adoption.

The next meeting of the committee will be conducted after 18 months.

The CAC, jointly established by FAO and WHO, is an international, intergovernmental body with membership of over 194 countries, which is based in Rome and is tasked with formulating internationally accepted standards pertaining to human food.

The CCSCH was established as one of the commodity committees under the CAC in 2013.