Steps to ensure export of high quality products: Spices Board

The Spices Board has taken steps to ensure export of high quality spices from India to world market including Japan and the United States, a top official has said.
The statement by Spices Board Chairman A Jayathilak assumes significance in the wake of reports that certain Indian spices were found harmful by labs in countries including Japan and America recently.
About the steps taken by the Spices Board to ensure export of quality spices, he said the Board is always vigilant and takes quick action with respect to alerts received from importing countries.
"The Board has been striving hard to ensure the export of high quality, clean and hygienic spices from India," Jayathilak, a senior IAS officer, told PTI.

He said the board remained update on issues causing rapid alerts and modified the sampling tests as per the requirement of the food import laws of differet countries.
"The Board has made it mandatory that exports of whole and ground form (excluding oils & oleoresins) of chilli, cumin, turmeric, black pepper, fenugreek and small cardamom from India to Japan shall be based on the cleared analytical reports on pesticide residues issued by the Spices Board, in addition to cleared analytical reports required for Sudan Dye and Aflatoxin," Jayathilak said.
He said Spices Board had made testing of Salmonella and microbial contaminants in the consignments of chilli/chilli products, cumin whole/grounded and all mixed forms of spices inclusive of paste exported to the USA mandatory along with mandatory sampling and testing of turmeric, nutmeg, ginger and mace.