FSSAI- Food
Testing of Spices, Herbs and Condiments

INTRODUCTION

Spices are usually ingredients of food. Many parts of the plant
such as fruit, leaves, seeds, roots, bark, berries, shoots, flowers or
vegetables are used as flavor, coloring or food preservative.

Herbs are fragrant or aromatic plants. herbs can be used to flavor
foods, flavored, and even part of natural remedies. basil, parsley, rosemary,
thyme, and dill are all vegetables.

Condiments are plant products used to flavor foods or food additives.
it is mainly added to food immediately before use to give flavor, aroma and
zest to the food. Soy sauce, cold sauce, cucumber, mustard, etc., are
considered spices.

Some of the tests and their methods are given below:

1.      Grinding of Sample for Chemical Analysis (Sample Preparation)

-This method is used for most spices and condiments. However, because of their
versatility and versatility, it may be necessary in some special circumstances
(such as high durability, high content of water and essential oils or oils) to
make certain changes or even to choose the appropriate method.

-  Determination of Extraneous Matter and other Refractions in whole spices. This
method is used in a variety of spices, condiments and dehydrated herbs. The
method specifies the standard procedure for visual inspection of spices to
determine visible impurities.

3.      - Determination
of Moisture content- The amount of water, expressed as% by weight, is filtered and collected in
accordance with the criteria specified in this standard. This method is used in
all spices and condiments as it contains flexible compounds.

4.     - Determination
of Total Ash- Ash refers to inorganic residues left over after ignition or complete immersion of
organic matter. This method is used to determine the total ash content of most
spices and condiments, herbs and spices.

5.    - Determination of water soluble and insoluble ash of spices and condiments: Soluble
Water Soluble ash refers to the residual ash that dissolves in the complete
dissolved ash. This method is used to determine the insoluble ashes of water
soluble in most spices and condiments.

     -Determination of Cold Water soluble Extract of spices and condiments: The
method is applicable to all spices and spice products.

 -Determination of Alcohol Soluble Extract

  -Determination of Calcium Oxide

  -        -Determination of Non Volatile Ether Extract

Determination
of Volatile Oil

 Determination of Crude Fiber.

Determination
of Allyl isothiocyanate in Mustard

Determination
of p-hydroxybenzyl isothiocyanate in S. alba

 Some other methods of testing are:

 -Microscopic
Examination of Spices

      -Detection
of Argemone seeds in Mustard -

      -Detection
of Mineral Oil in Black Pepper

      -Detection
of Papaya seeds in Black Pepper

      -Detection
of Turmeric in Chillies and Coriander 39

           -Detection
of Oil Soluble Colour   

      -Determination
of Light and Heavy Filth in Spices and Condiment     

       -Method
for capsaicin content in chilli powder

      -Method
for measuring colour value in chillies

India is the largest exporter of spices, one of the most
important ingredients in Indian dishes are these spices and herbs, spices and condiments are the main reason for the
authentic taste and aroma that the foods have. Spices and condiments are known
as one of the most remarkable ingredients of many types of cuisine all around
the world especially in India so it is essential to test whether these spices, herbs and condiments produced are safe to consume for people, for that
purpose FSSAI has proposed certain methods of testing these special
ingredients.