The Spices Board of India has denied the charge of a section of the
US media that Indian spices are a major source of a variety of bacteria
that causes typhoid and other stomach diseases.
The board said India had given priority to quality and met all
food-safety standards and did the mandatory checks before shipment, and
98.5% of all varieties, especially black pepper, were found to be
without salmonella (as alleged), and that was above the international
standards.
“Most of the claims are misleading and they would damage the
credentials of one of the largest spice-producing countries like India,”
said board marketing director KC Babu.
A report in the New York Times had said the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA), a US agency, found around 7% of India’s shipment
contaminated with salmonella.
Around 15% of the supply of coriander, 12% of oregano (a variety of
mint) and 4% of black pepper were found contaminated, the report said.
No comments:
Post a Comment