Spice and Herb
Integrity issues
There are four main types of spice & herb integrity issues:
- Addition of substitutes (e.g. Plant husks, substandard spents or other parts from plants, flour/starch, saw dust, stone powder)
- Addition of dyes / unpermitted preservatives
- Mislabelling of the botanical origin (species) or proportions in a blend
- Mislabelling of geographical origin
This risk increases in powders where the shape of the plants leaves, seeds, fruits etc. is no longer visible
Potential threat to public health
The detection of undeclared nut protein in cumin and paprika in 2015 was one case where adulteration did not result in just economic losses. This crime had serious consequences for public health and strengthened the demand for food protection. The addition of plant proteins is not the only danger, the addition of artificial dyes, non-edible plants or non-food adulterants also represents a toxicity risk
To preserve Spice and Herb reputation as well as consumer health, monitor their integrity through analytical testing
Our expertise
Eurofins companies support the Spice & Herb sector, with the commitment to better serve you and to reply to all your issues with our very wide portfolio of testing.
Statistical review
FAIL assessment on Eurofins company report means that the product is not marketable according to:
- ISO norms
- EU regulation
- Eurofins company databases
Disclaimer: Non compliance rates presented here are global and may not reflect accurately the market situation in each country but they can be used as qualitative indications for major risks for on a worldwide basis
Non compliance rates observed for spice and herb samples analysed (all tests) between 2018 and 2021
Eurofins Network Offer
| Testing requests | Methods |
|---|---|
|
Broad and fast screening of herbs & spices integrity & quality |
|
|
Moisture / Dry matter |
Azeotropy, Oven drying |
|
Essential oil content |
Distillation |
|
Geographic origin check |
Stable Isotopes analyses (IRMS, TIMS) |
|
Ash |
Gravimetry |
| Specific characteristics (e.g.: non volatile ether extract, cold water extract, UV absorbances) |
Miscellaneous methods |
| Specific compounds (e.g. Piperine in pepper, volatile sulfur compounds in garlic, etc.) |
Miscellaneous methods |
FOODINTEGRITY HANDBOOK
Eurofins is partner of FoodIntegrity Handbook, a useful companion written by nearly 50 experts in food authenticity
