WHAT IS THE GUIDANCE ISSUED BY FSSAI FOR SPICES FROM POST-HARVEST TO TRANSPORTATION?

The expanding global demand for Indian spices is posing a number of issues, mostly in the food industry to the spice sector in the country, sustainability, traceability, and safety standards, and having in mind the country's leading food regulator, the FSSAI, has issued a guidance note for proper spice management from post-harvest to packaging and delivery to the market. The document, which is merely for informational purposes and has no legal implications, included topics such as post-harvest, from whole spice drying and storage to spice grinding, blending, storage, packaging, and transportation.

It was broken down into five sections:

- The first part of the report provides an outline of India's spice processing business.

- The second section contains instructions for putting good manufacturing practices and good hygiene practices into practice, as outlined in Part II of Schedule 4 of the Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations, 2011, which must be followed at every step in the supply chain to ensure food safety.

- The third component of this document is advisory in nature, and it gives the basic information and criteria for food enterprises to apply the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) system. This portion has a complete production process with a process flow map and the relevance of main processing steps, as well as two tables: Hazard Analysis and HACCP Plans," according to a senior FSSAI official Tables of Hazard Analysis are anticipated to aid the industry in identifying the food safety risks associated with each processing step, as well as the Critical Control Points (CCPs), proposed remedial actions, and other pertinent data. The industry could use the sample HACCP plans as a guide and modify or adjust them based on their operations.

- The fourth component is an inspection checklist that food service operators can use to audit their facility and operations. This will aid FBOs in evaluating themselves based on the indicative scoring, while the final section contains key templates and forms that FBOs will need to keep track of their records. This comprises FSSAI-mandated forms as well as a few templates for preserving records of important food safety processes.

- It's worth noting that India is the world's top producer and exporter of the 109 varieties of spices classified by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), with about 75 variations produced and exported. The scent, texture, and flavour of Indian spices are well-known throughout the world.

- Pepper, chilli, turmeric, ginger, cardamom, coriander, cumin, fennel, fenugreek, celery, nutmeg and mace garlic, tamarind, and vanilla are the main exports from India. Spice oils and oleoresins, mint products, curry powder, spice powders, mixes, and seasonings are among the processed spices exported. In terms of volume and value, India has a 45 percent share in the global spice trade.

- Spices are the most valuable commodity in the commodities market. India and China are the two largest exporters of spices in the world, and the United States and Europe are the two largest consumer markets.

- Pepper, cardamom, ginger, turmeric, chilli, cinnamon, nutmeg/mace, cloves, pimento, and vanilla are the most important spice crops from tropical regions in terms of global trade value, while cumin, coriander, sesame seeds, mustard, sage, bay, oregano, thyme, and mint are the most important spice crops from non-tropical regions.