Kitchen Spices Allegedly a Source of Salmonella
A recent article in The New York Times reports that the U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA) is set to release a three-year-long study concluding that
imported spices, particularly those from India and Mexico, are contaminated
with Salmonella—reportedly the most common source of foodborne
illness—at twice the rate of all other imported foods. “In a study of more
than 20,000 food shipments,” the article states, “[USDA] found that nearly 7
percent of spice lots were contaminated with salmonella, twice the average
of all other imported foods. Some 15 percent of coriander and 12 percent of
oregano and basil shipments were contaminated, with high contamination
levels also found in sesame seeds, curry powder and cumin. Four percent of
black pepper shipments were contaminated.”
“Salmonella is a widespread problem with respect to imported spices,” Deputy
U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Michael Taylor was quoted
as saying. “We have decided that spices are one of the significant issues we
need to be addressing right now.” The article indicates that Westerners are
“particularly vulnerable” to contaminated spices because spices are often
added at the table, so “bacterial hitchhikers are consumed live and unharmed.”
In India and most other Asian countries, spices are evidently added during
cooking and, because bacteria do not survive high temperatures, contamination
is less of a problem there.
According to the article, Mexico and India had the highest share of contaminated spices—about 14 percent of the samples from Mexico contained Salmonella compared with 9 percent from India. Because India reportedly ships nearly four times the amount of spices to the United States that Mexico does, however, officials noted that its contamination problems are “particularly worrisome,” and government officials in that country are evidently taking USDA’s concerns seriously. “The world wants safe spices, and we are committed to making that happen,” a Spices Board of India spokesperson was quoted as saying. See The New York Times, August 27, 2013; NPR’s The Salt, August 29, 2013.
