Spice adulteration and authenticity
Quick answer
Spices are among the most adulterated foods traded, because they are valuable by weight, travel through long supply chains and are mostly sold ground, where a filler cannot be seen. Most adulteration is economic — cheaper plant material sold as dearer — and a small part of it is dangerous, chiefly industrial dyes and lead pigments added for colour. This register records sourced cases only, spice by spice. Each says whether it was found in traded goods, is reported in the literature or is only possible, how it is detected, and what a buyer can tell without a laboratory, which is usually less than home-test advice suggests.
Where adulteration is a health hazard
Kept apart from economic fraud, because the two call for entirely different responses.
Black pepper: Undeclared mustard seed
Nine ground pepper samples in the same survey contained mustard, which is a regulated allergen in the European Union. An undeclared allergen turns an economic fraud into a health hazard for the people it affects.
Laboratory only
Chilli powder: Sudan dyes and other illegal azo colours
Sudan I in chilli powder used by food manufacturers triggered mass recalls in Britain and across Europe in 2005. The European Food Safety Authority’s review concluded that Sudan I to IV, Para Red and Rhodamine B are or may be genotoxic and carcinogenic; none is a permitted food colour. In 20 samples of hot chilli bought in markets in five Egyptian governorates and analysed in 2025, Sudan I was found above the limit of quantification in every one.
Laboratory only
Cumin: Peanut and almond
In 2014 and 2015 ground cumin carrying undeclared peanut and almond protein was recalled across North America and Europe, and allergic reactions were reported. The contamination was traced back to the supply chain at origin; ground nut shells or flour used to bulk the spice is the explanation generally given. A Canadian regulator’s survey of 299 retail packs of cumin and paprika in late 2015 found undeclared peanut in seven, at 1.6 to 12 parts per million, levels it thought could come from cross-contamination. It left almond out of the survey because its laboratory method for almond cross-reacts with mahaleb.
Laboratory only
Cumin: Undeclared mustard
Mustard is a declared food allergen in the EU, and the 2021 coordinated survey found mustard DNA in nine cumin samples and mustard seed above the extraneous-matter limit in three. Whether added as filler or picked up through shared equipment, undeclared mustard is a hazard to anyone allergic to it.
Laboratory only
Paprika: Sudan dyes and other illegal azo colours
Sudan I found in chilli powder used by food manufacturers triggered mass recalls across Britain and Europe in 2005. The European Food Safety Authority’s review concluded that Sudan I to IV, Para Red and Rhodamine B are or may be genotoxic and carcinogenic. None is a permitted food colour. Of 20 paprika samples bought in Egyptian markets and analysed in 2025, the authors report Sudan IV above the limit of quantification in 12 and Sudan I in 3.
Laboratory only
Saffron: Sudan I and other non-authorised dyes
In the European Union’s 2021 coordinated survey, non-authorised dyes were found in eleven saffron samples that contained no other adulterant, some with several dyes, and Sudan I in one sample made mostly of another plant. Sudan dyes are industrial colours; the European Food Safety Authority’s review concluded they are or may be genotoxic and carcinogenic, and none is a permitted food colour.
Laboratory only
Smoked paprika: Sudan dyes and other illegal azo colours
The illegal dye cases of 2005 involved chilli and paprika products generally, and the European Food Safety Authority found Sudan I to IV, Para Red and Rhodamine B are or may be genotoxic and carcinogenic. Smoked paprika is exposed on the same terms as unsmoked.
Laboratory only
Star anise: Japanese star anise (Illicium anisatum)
Japanese star anise has been found in consignments of culinary star anise, and infusions made from contaminated product have caused poisonings, including in infants. The United States Food and Drug Administration issued an advisory on star anise teas in 2003, and the European Medicines Agency's assessment records the adulteration and the methods used to detect it.
Sometimes detectable by a buyer
Turmeric: Lead chromate
Lead chromate, a yellow industrial pigment, was documented being dusted onto turmeric rhizomes during polishing in Bangladesh to brighten them, and the practice was linked to elevated blood lead in the population studied. The evidence is specific to the supply chains investigated and should not be generalised to all turmeric. India’s statutory standard names the pigment: whole turmeric and turmeric powder must each be free from lead chromate and pass a test for it.
Laboratory only
Turmeric: Non-permitted dyes such as metanil yellow
Synthetic yellow dyes not permitted in spices have been added to ground turmeric to improve colour — metanil yellow is the one most often reported. In the European Union’s 2021 coordinated survey three of 316 samples carried non-authorised dyes: one Sudan I and two tartrazine, a colour permitted in some foods and not in spices. A 2026 review of 48 studies covering 2,235 commercial turmeric samples counted 20.0 per cent as adulterated; metanil yellow was the dye most often tested for, and 150 of 947 Indian samples tested for it were positive, while Sudan dye was reported in 28.2 per cent of 238 samples from Pakistan.
Laboratory only
Vanilla: Coumarin in cheap vanilla-flavoured extracts
Tonka bean, which is rich in coumarin, has a vanilla-like smell and has been used in inexpensive "vanilla" extracts. Coumarin is prohibited as a food additive in the United States and limited in the European Union on account of its liver toxicity at high intake.
Laboratory only
By spice
Every spice with a recorded authenticity risk, and what the evidence for each amounts to. The full evidence is on the spice’s own page.
Asafoetida
- Excess flour or starch Bulking agent Reported in the literature · Sometimes detectable by a buyer · Smell and taste, Microscopy
- Cheaper Ferula gums and other resins Species substitution Reported in the literature · Rarely detectable by a buyer · Chromatography (HPLC, GC), Mass spectrometry
Black pepper
- Starch-based fillers — rice, buckwheat, wheat, barley Bulking agent Found in traded goods · Laboratory only · DNA analysis, Microscopy, Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR, NIR)
- Undeclared mustard seed Bulking agent Health hazardFound in traded goods · Laboratory only · DNA analysis
- Papaya seeds Species substitution Reported in the literature · Sometimes detectable by a buyer · Visual inspection, Microscopy, DNA analysis, Chromatography (HPLC, GC)
- Low-piperine or spent pepper Exhausted material Found in traded goods · Rarely detectable by a buyer · Chromatography (HPLC, GC)
Chilli powder
- Sudan dyes and other illegal azo colours Added colour Health hazardFound in traded goods · Laboratory only · Chromatography (HPLC, GC), Mass spectrometry
- Brick dust, starch and spent material Bulking agent Reported in the literature · Rarely detectable by a buyer · Microscopy, Elemental analysis (XRF, ICP), Chromatography (HPLC, GC)
Cinnamon (Ceylon)
- Cassia sold as cinnamon Species substitution Found in traded goods · Sometimes detectable by a buyer · Visual inspection, Microscopy, Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR, NIR), Chromatography (HPLC, GC), DNA analysis
- Root, seed and other parts of the plant in ground bark Wrong plant part Reported in the literature · Laboratory only · Chromatography (HPLC, GC)
Cloves
- Clove stems in ground cloves Wrong plant part Reported in the literature · Laboratory only · Microscopy, Chromatography (HPLC, GC)
- Exhausted cloves Exhausted material Reported in the literature · Sometimes detectable by a buyer · Smell and taste, Chromatography (HPLC, GC)
Cumin
- Peanut and almond Bulking agent Health hazardFound in traded goods · Laboratory only · DNA analysis, Mass spectrometry
- Other seeds, husk and plant material Bulking agent Found in traded goods · Rarely detectable by a buyer · Microscopy, Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR, NIR), DNA analysis
- Caraway sold as cumin Species substitution Found in traded goods · Sometimes detectable by a buyer · DNA analysis, Chromatography (HPLC, GC), Smell and taste
- Undeclared mustard Bulking agent Health hazardFound in traded goods · Laboratory only · DNA analysis
Fennel seed
- Spent seed from oil distillation Exhausted material Reported in the literature · Sometimes detectable by a buyer · Smell and taste, Visual inspection, Chromatography (HPLC, GC)
Ginger
- Exhausted ginger Exhausted material Reported in the literature · Sometimes detectable by a buyer · Smell and taste, Chromatography (HPLC, GC)
- Starch and other fillers Bulking agent Reported in the literature · Rarely detectable by a buyer · Microscopy
Mace
- Bombay mace (Myristica malabarica) Species substitution Reported in the literature · Rarely detectable by a buyer · Chromatography (HPLC, GC), Microscopy, Smell and taste
Nutmeg
- Myristica argentea sold as nutmeg and mace Species substitution Found in traded goods · Sometimes detectable by a buyer · Visual inspection, Chromatography (HPLC, GC), DNA analysis
Oregano
- Olive leaves Bulking agent Found in traded goods · Rarely detectable by a buyer · Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR, NIR), Microscopy, Chromatography (HPLC, GC), Mass spectrometry, DNA analysis
- Myrtle, sumac, cistus and hazelnut leaves Bulking agent Found in traded goods · Rarely detectable by a buyer · Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR, NIR), Mass spectrometry, DNA analysis
Paprika
- Sudan dyes and other illegal azo colours Added colour Health hazardFound in traded goods · Laboratory only · Chromatography (HPLC, GC), Mass spectrometry
- Ground stems, seeds and other plant material Bulking agent Found in traded goods · Rarely detectable by a buyer · Microscopy, Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR, NIR), UV-visible spectrophotometry
Saffron
- Safflower florets Species substitution Reported in the literature · Sometimes detectable by a buyer · Visual inspection, Microscopy, Chromatography (HPLC, GC), Mass spectrometry, DNA analysis
- Yellow style mixed into red cuts Wrong plant part Reported in the literature · Sometimes detectable by a buyer · Visual inspection, UV-visible spectrophotometry
- Dyed fibres, corn silk and other plant parts Wrong plant part Reported in the literature · Sometimes detectable by a buyer · Visual inspection, Microscopy, DNA analysis
- Added synthetic colour Added colour Reported in the literature · Rarely detectable by a buyer · Chromatography (HPLC, GC)
- Moisture, honey, glycerol, oil or sand Weight gain Reported in the literature · Rarely detectable by a buyer · Visual inspection, Elemental analysis (XRF, ICP), Chromatography (HPLC, GC)
- Saffron from elsewhere sold as Spanish False origin Found in traded goods · Laboratory only · Mass spectrometry
- Sudan I and other non-authorised dyes Added colour Health hazardFound in traded goods · Laboratory only · Chromatography (HPLC, GC), Mass spectrometry
Smoked paprika
- Unsmoked paprika with added smoke flavouring Misdescribed product Possible, with no case recorded · Rarely detectable by a buyer · Smell and taste, Chromatography (HPLC, GC)
- Sudan dyes and other illegal azo colours Added colour Health hazardPossible, with no case recorded · Laboratory only · Chromatography (HPLC, GC), Mass spectrometry
Star anise
- Japanese star anise (Illicium anisatum) Species substitution Health hazardFound in traded goods · Sometimes detectable by a buyer · Visual inspection, Microscopy, Chromatography (HPLC, GC), Mass spectrometry, DNA analysis
Sumac
- Undeclared or excessive salt Weight gain Reported in the literature · Usually detectable by a buyer · Smell and taste, Visual inspection
- Added red colour and beetroot Added colour Reported in the literature · Rarely detectable by a buyer · UV-visible spectrophotometry, Chromatography (HPLC, GC)
- Added citric acid Misdescribed product Reported in the literature · Rarely detectable by a buyer · Chromatography (HPLC, GC)
Turmeric
- Lead chromate Added colour Health hazardFound in traded goods · Laboratory only · Elemental analysis (XRF, ICP)
- Non-permitted dyes such as metanil yellow Added colour Health hazardFound in traded goods · Laboratory only · Chromatography (HPLC, GC), UV-visible spectrophotometry
- Starch, chalk and other fillers Bulking agent Reported in the literature · Rarely detectable by a buyer · Microscopy, Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR, NIR)
- Undeclared chilli and cereal material Bulking agent Found in traded goods · Laboratory only · DNA analysis, Microscopy
- Low-curcuminoid or exhausted material Exhausted material Found in traded goods · Laboratory only · Chromatography (HPLC, GC), DNA analysis
Vanilla
- Synthetic or lignin-derived vanillin in "natural" vanilla Misdescribed product Reported in the literature · Laboratory only · Stable isotope ratio analysis, Chromatography (HPLC, GC), Mass spectrometry
- Coumarin in cheap vanilla-flavoured extracts Misdescribed product Health hazardReported in the literature · Laboratory only · Chromatography (HPLC, GC)
Voatsiperifery
- Other Malagasy wild peppers Species substitution Reported in the literature · Rarely detectable by a buyer · Chromatography (HPLC, GC), Mass spectrometry
- Cultivated pepper Species substitution Reported in the literature · Sometimes detectable by a buyer · Visual inspection, Smell and taste, Chromatography (HPLC, GC)
Pomegranate molasses
- Added glucose syrup Weight gain Found in traded goods · Rarely detectable by a buyer · Qualitative chemical test
Home tests, assessed
The tests that circulate online, with what each can and cannot show. None of them is a substitute for laboratory analysis.
Holding a piece of lump resin to a flame — Asafoetida
indicative
Genuine resin burns readily with a bright flame, which distinguishes it from lumps made up with earth or stone. It applies only to lump resin and says nothing about which Ferula it came from, or about compounded powder.
Dropping peppercorns in water or alcohol and discarding the floaters — Black pepper
indicative
Flotation genuinely separates light, immature berries — the trade uses it to measure them — and papaya seeds tend to float too. But a floater is not proof of papaya, and a batch that sinks can still be old. It sorts density, not identity.
Pressing a peppercorn with a fingernail to see if it crushes — Black pepper
unreliable
Dry papaya seeds and light pepper berries can both crush, and so can old pepper. Hardness varies with drying and age more than with species.
Stirring chilli powder into water to see whether the colour runs — Chilli powder
misleading
Chilli’s own red pigments are fat-soluble and barely colour water; so are the Sudan dyes. The test finds only water-soluble dyes, so a clean result says nothing about the adulterants that matter most.
Watching for grit settling at the bottom of a glass of water — Chilli powder
indicative
Brick dust and sand are denser than plant material and settle first as a gritty layer. It can flag crude mineral bulking in a heavily adulterated sample; fine or small additions are not visible, and genuine powder also leaves some sediment.
Adding iodine to ground cinnamon and watching for a dark blue colour — Cinnamon (Ceylon)
unreliable
Iodine detects starch, not species. Cassia bark tends to hold more starch, but starch content varies with the bark and the grind, and any starchy filler turns blue too. It can suggest that something starchy is present; it cannot tell you what the cinnamon is.
Looking at the cut end of a whole quill — Cinnamon (Ceylon)
indicative
Many thin layers rolled together indicate hand-peeled Cinnamomum verum; one thick, hard layer indicates cassia. Dependable for whole quills, and of no use once the bark is ground.
Dropping cloves in water to see whether the heads float upright — Cloves
indicative
Oil-rich cloves tend to sink or float head-down and upright, while exhausted or old cloves lie flat on the surface. It reflects oil content, which is what matters, but it is a rough sort rather than a verdict, and it says nothing about ground cloves.
Pressing a clove with a fingernail to see a trace of oil — Cloves
indicative
A fresh, sound clove releases visible oil and a strong smell under pressure. The absence of both is a sound reason to reject a batch, though not proof of fraud rather than age.
Rubbing whole seeds between the palms to see whether colour comes off — Cumin
indicative
Seeds dusted with a dark colourant to pass as cumin leave a stain on the skin, and genuine seed does not. It works only for whole seed and only for that one kind of fake; it says nothing about ground cumin.
Rubbing a pinch between the fingers and smelling it — Oregano
indicative
Weak aroma means the oregano is old, of a mild type, or diluted — the test cannot say which, and a strong-smelling sample can still contain some adulterant. It is useful for deciding whether a jar is worth using, not whether it is authentic.
Stirring paprika into water to see whether the colour runs — Paprika
misleading
Paprika’s own pigments are fat-soluble, so genuine paprika barely colours water. Sudan dyes are oil-soluble as well, so they do not run either. The test detects only water-soluble dyes, and a clean result is no reassurance about the ones that matter.
Reading "Spanish saffron" or "from Spain" on the packet — Saffron
misleading
Spain exports many times the saffron it grows, and a study of commercial samples found most of those labelled Spanish saffron were not grown in Spain. Packed or traded in Spain is not grown in Spain; only the Azafrán de La Mancha designation, with its control label, states origin.
Dropping a thread into water and watching the colour — Saffron
indicative
Genuine saffron releases colour slowly into a spreading yellow-gold halo while the thread itself stays red; a thread that bleeds red or orange at once, or turns pale within minutes, suggests surface dye. It flags crude fakes. It cannot grade, and a genuine thread dusted with extra dye can pass.
Tasting a thread — Saffron
indicative
Real saffron is distinctly bitter from picrocrocin; safflower and most look-alikes are not. A sweet thread is suspect. A bitter one proves only that it contains some saffron.
Rubbing a wet thread on paper or skin — Saffron
unreliable
Genuine and dyed threads both leave a yellow-orange stain, so the result does not separate them.
Smelling the stars for a sweet anise smell — Star anise
unreliable
A good anise smell from the bag is reassuring but proves little: a few toxic stars among many genuine ones will not change the smell of the whole, and the toxic compound has no smell of its own.
Tasting a pinch on its own — Sumac
indicative
Good sumac is sour and fruity; heavy salt is obvious at once. The test cannot detect citric acid, which tastes sour too.
Stirring turmeric into water: pure turmeric settles, adulterated turmeric colours the water — Turmeric
misleading
Curcumin is poorly soluble in water, so genuine turmeric does settle. Lead chromate is insoluble too and settles with it. The test can reveal a water-soluble dye; it cannot reveal the adulterant with the documented health consequences.
Adding iodine to check for starch — Turmeric
misleading
Turmeric rhizome is itself rich in starch, so genuine turmeric turns the iodine blue-black. A positive result does not indicate added starch.
Checking whether an extract contains visible specks of seed — Vanilla
unreliable
Specks show that some bean was used, not that the flavour came from it. Spent seed is sometimes added to products flavoured with synthetic vanillin, and a genuine clear extract has none.
Laboratory methods, and what each cannot prove
A method is not a verdict. DNA can identify a species and say nothing about where it grew; an isotope ratio places a sample only against a reference set; a spectroscopic model is only as good as the samples it was trained on.
Saffron grading by ISO 3632
QualityAuthenticityThe ISO 3632 test reads a water extract of saffron at three wavelengths, for crocin (colouring strength), picrocrocin (bitterness) and safranal (aroma), and sorts the result into commercial categories. It measures how much of the compounds that make saffron’s colour and flavour a sample carries, which is what a saffron grade is.
A grade is not proof of purity. The readings are absorbances, so a synthetic dye absorbing in the same region can inflate the colouring figure; and saffron bulked with look-alike plant material can still fall within a commercial category — in one survey, removing the adulterants moved samples from Category III to Category II. In a study comparing methods, the ISO safranal reading did not correlate with safranal measured by chromatography.
- Saffron:
The official approach, UV-visible spectroscopy with liquid chromatography of crocin, is reported to miss safflower, marigold or turmeric when they are added in small proportions.
- Saffron:
In a survey reported alongside a microscopy method for spotting look-alikes, only 40% of saffron samples met ISO Category I, and the rest averaged 36.25% adulteration.
DNA barcoding and metabarcoding
AuthenticityReads short, standard regions of plant DNA — such as ITS2, matK, rbcL and trnH-psbA — that are conserved within a species and differ between species, to identify which plants are present. Metabarcoding sequences many at once, so one test can list the species in a mixed product without being told what to look for; in a proof-of-concept study it found undeclared mint in oregano and species substitutions, and three markers together were more sensitive than one.
It identifies species, not where or how they were grown or how much aroma is left, and it cannot see dyes, minerals or exhausted material. A species it does not find is not proven absent: in the same proof-of-concept study, DNA degraded by heavy processing, gaps in the reference database and natural variation within species limited detection in some cases.
- Cinnamon (Ceylon):
Of six barcode regions compared, trnH-psbA told Cinnamomum verum apart from C. aromaticum, C. burmannii and C. loureiroi, and a high-resolution melting assay built on it distinguished the four species in commercial products; DNA of the mould Aspergillus flavus spiked into a mixture was also detected.
- Saffron:
Of three barcodes compared, psbA-trnH gave different product sizes for saffron, safflower and calendula, and was judged the most useful for detecting those two as adulterants.
- Turmeric:
Of three loci tested (rbcL, ITS and matK), ITS best told the Curcuma species apart.
- Oregano:
In a proof-of-concept study, nanopore metabarcoding detected mint that had not been declared in oregano.
Stable isotope ratio analysis of vanillin
AuthenticityVanillin is the same molecule whether it comes from cured vanilla beans, lignin or petrochemicals, so no test of its structure can tell the sources apart. The ratios of carbon-13 to carbon-12 and of deuterium to hydrogen can, because each source leaves its own isotopic signature; they are measured on the vanillin itself, and are also used to trace a vanilla’s geographical origin.
A ratio places a sample only against the reference values of authentic material it is compared with, which is why reference profiles of authentic pods are still being built. The authors of one such study note that increasingly sophisticated fraud requires the methods to keep being refined, and they added minor aroma compounds as further markers.
- Vanilla:
Measured on authentic pods by compound-specific isotope analysis, vanillin of Vanilla planifolia gave δ13C of −20.5‰ to −19.1‰ and V. tahitensis about −16.5‰, a significant difference between the species; δ2H ran from −99‰ to −63‰ and varied with origin. The authors place vanillin from lignin or petroleum at −36.2‰ to −24.9‰ and from glucose near −12.5‰, which is why a blend of the two can imitate the natural δ13C and why δ2H is measured as well.
X-ray fluorescence screening for lead
SafetyAuthenticityMeasures elements directly in a sample, without dissolving it, and handheld analysers work in a market. For lead in turmeric it was calibrated against ICP-MS, the laboratory reference: results on powder agreed closely (R² 0.99, mean error 0.82%), and on whole dried roots less closely (R² 0.98, mean error 18.36%), because a root is uneven where a powder is uniform. Lead chromate shows as chromium found alongside the lead.
It measures elements, not compounds: lead chromate is inferred from lead and chromium occurring together, not identified as such. On roots it is semi-quantitative, within about 24%, and tends to read slightly high at higher concentrations. A screen is not a confirmation — the tiered approach proposed for turmeric uses portable XRF to screen and mass spectrometry to confirm.
- Turmeric:
Of 503 turmeric samples bought in five eastern Indian states in 2021–2023, 30% exceeded India’s permissible lead limit of 10 µg/g; in Bihar the geometric mean was 48 µg/g and the highest sample 6,416 µg/g. Every sample above 10 µg/g also held chromium at levels suggesting lead chromate.
Targeted LC-MS/MS for illegal dyes
SafetyAuthenticityLiquid chromatography separates an extract and tandem mass spectrometry identifies each compound by its mass and fragments, so the method confirms and quantifies named illegal dyes such as the Sudan dyes at trace levels. One method validated to EU requirements covers fourteen dyes in chilli powder, sauces and flavourings, with detection limits of 0.03–0.44 µg/kg.
A targeted method finds only what it is built to look for. A clean result means none of the listed dyes was present above its limit, not that the product contains no added colour.
- Chilli powder:
Applied to 2,350 samples in Egypt over four years, the method found illegal dyes in 18.62% of chilli powders; Sudan IV and Red B were the commonest, each in 15.86% of them.
Mycotoxin screening and confirmation
SafetyMycotoxins are measured in two tiers. Immunoassays — ELISA kits and lateral-flow strips — use antibodies to screen quickly and cheaply for aflatoxins, ochratoxin A and other regulated toxins, and strips work on site. Chromatography confirms and quantifies: HPLC with fluorescence detection remains a standard method, and LC-MS/MS, which measures many toxins in one run, is the gold standard.
A screening result is not a confirmation, because antibodies can cross-react with related compounds. A negative from routine analysis does not rule out every form of a toxin: modified mycotoxins can evade routine detection.
In spice matrices, sample preparation is the largest source of analytical error: the complex chemistry of the plant material interferes with detection.
- Paprika:
A 2025 review of the literature found chilli, paprika, ginger and the peppers to be high-risk commodities, often more heavily contaminated than dried herbs.
Culture testing for Salmonella
SafetyLooks for Salmonella that can still grow: a defined portion of spice is analysed, and any Salmonella recovered is isolated, serotyped and genome-sequenced so it can be compared with other isolates. In the US FDA’s surveys the portion was 125 g for a retail sample and two 375 g composites for an import shipment.
A negative covers the portion analysed, not the lot. In a survey of 7,250 retail samples, cumin, sesame and white pepper yielded no Salmonella, and their prevalence was still reported with upper confidence limits of 0.63–0.70%, not as zero. Culture also finds only cells that grow: Salmonella held in red pepper powder at 30 °C and 40% relative humidity entered a viable-but-non-culturable state.
- Chilli powder:
In 299 imported dried capsicum shipments, each examined as 1,500 g, Salmonella was found in 3.3 per cent; contaminated shipments held on average between 0.0006 and 0.09 MPN per gram. Modelling those levels, the authors predicted that a 25 g sample would identify only a small fraction of contaminated shipments: how much is cultured decides what is found.
Infrared screening with a chemometric model
AuthenticityInfrared spectrometers — mid-infrared (FTIR) and near-infrared (NIR), benchtop or handheld — record a spectrum of the whole sample in seconds without separating it, and a statistical model trained on authentic and adulterated samples classifies new ones. For black pepper, benchtop FTIR-ATR and FT-NIR models told authentic pepper from adulterant samples with 100% prediction accuracy, in a study covering other peppers and 27 adulterants.
A model recognises only what it was trained on, and its accuracy describes the samples used to build and test it — in the pepper study, samples spiked with known adulterants at 5–95%. It flags that a sample differs from the references more readily than it identifies what is wrong, so a flagged sample needs a targeted method to confirm.
- Cinnamon (Ceylon):
In 46 cinnamons from the Slovenian market, FTIR spectra told Ceylon from cassia cinnamon.
- Paprika:
In 45 paprikas from the Slovenian market, FTIR showed spectral features the authors read as consistent with removal of the oleoresin or addition of an azo dye — a suspicion that, in their words, needs further verification, not a finding of fraud.
- Black pepper:
Two handheld near-infrared instruments did less well than the benchtop ones: the microNIR 1700ES classified 91.30% of samples correctly and the SCiO 86.96%.
- Coriander seed:
On 200 authentic Indian coriander seed samples and 90 that the researchers had themselves cut with starch, salt or sawdust, the best models from a benchtop near-infrared instrument sorted every sample correctly, the best from a portable one classed 98.5% of the authentic and all of the adulterated samples correctly, and a handheld consumer device caught the adulterated samples while passing somewhat fewer of the genuine ones, though still over 90%. These were prepared samples, not coriander found adulterated in trade.
Volatile profiling with a chemometric model
AuthenticityQualitySamples the volatile compounds above a spice and separates them by gas chromatography — here followed by ion mobility spectrometry — to give a profile of its aroma chemistry. Used untargeted, the whole profile is compared with authentic material: for oregano adulterated with olive leaf, one model classified every validation sample correctly and a second estimated the percentage of olive leaf.
The model was built and validated against two kinds of olive leaf. A different adulterant lies outside what it was validated for, and its percentages are estimates from calibration against those two.
- Cinnamon (Ceylon):
Volatile and other chemical markers separated Ceylon from cassia: eugenol, β-phellandrene, δ-3-carene and cryptone were found only in Ceylon cinnamon, and coumarin and a set of sesquiterpenes characterised cassia. Of 16 ground cinnamons from supermarkets in Alicante, Spain, one resembled Ceylon, one was a mixture and the rest were cassia.
- Oregano:
Applied to 15 commercial oregano samples, the method classified two as adulterated, with an estimated 31% and 43% olive leaf.
HPLC measurement of capsaicinoids
QualitySensoryMeasures the concentration of capsaicin and related capsaicinoids in a chilli extract. Quantitative measurement of this kind has largely replaced the Scoville organoleptic test, whose tasting panel is open to bias, and the measured concentration correlates directly with the Scoville heat units extrapolated from it.
A capsaicin figure is not a measure of how hot a food will taste: a systematic review found no direct relationship between measured capsaicin in foods and consistent, reproducible measurements of their sensory effects. The figure also depends on how the sample is prepared — in one study, extraction from dried pepper yielded 542–1,110% more capsaicin than extraction from fresh.
- Habanero:
By reversed-phase HPLC, habanero held 4,777 ± 588 mg of capsaicin per kg dry weight, the most of seven cultivars; Anaheim held 0.9 mg/kg.
Isotope ratio and elemental profiling for origin
AuthenticityCombines stable isotope ratios of the whole spice — carbon, nitrogen and sulphur — with the concentrations of many trace elements, and classifies samples by a statistical model trained on samples of known origin or production method. In one market study, markers such as δ13C, δ34S, rubidium, caesium, vanadium, iron and aluminium classified paprika from Hungary, Serbia and Spain with about 90 per cent accuracy and cinnamon from Sri Lanka, Madagascar and Indonesia with 89 per cent; organic paprika showed higher δ15N, δ34S and zinc.
The model can only assign a sample to an origin it was trained on, and its accuracy describes the samples used to build it. The authors call their classification preliminary and say larger, more balanced sets of samples are needed before the markers can be generalised; a sample from an origin outside the reference set cannot be placed at all.
- Paprika:
Forty-five paprika samples from the Slovenian market were classified by country of origin with a preliminary accuracy of 90 per cent.
- Cinnamon (Ceylon):
Among 46 cinnamons, sulphur isotopes and barium, with other elements, separated production practices with 95 per cent accuracy.
Ambient (DART) tandem mass spectrometry screening
AuthenticityDirect Analysis in Real Time ionises a sample in open air in front of a triple-quadrupole mass spectrometer, which watches for fragment transitions specific to known adulterants, without a chromatographic separation. A method of this kind detected turmeric in saffron down to 3 per cent and safflower down to 5 per cent, at about twenty analyses in ten minutes.
It is targeted: it looks for the transitions of the adulterants it was built for, here safflower and turmeric, and says nothing about others such as marigold, dyes or exhausted saffron. The authors present it as a rapid screening tool for testing laboratories.
- Saffron:
Turmeric was detected in saffron at levels as low as 3 per cent and safflower at 5 per cent, both far below the roughly 20 per cent that the official spectrophotometric approach is reported to miss.
How adulteration is detected
From what anyone can do to what needs a laboratory.
- Visual inspection
Looking at the product, with a lens if needed. Useful for whole spices and almost useless for ground ones: saffron threads, cinnamon quills, peppercorns and star anise can be examined for shape, colour and foreign pieces; a powder cannot, and the fillers that matter most in powders are chosen because they look the same.
- Smell and taste
Smell and taste. They reliably reveal staleness, exhausted material and gross substitution — ground cloves with no numbing warmth, cinnamon with the sharp bite of cassia — but not the adulterants that matter most: a dye, a heavy metal or a well-chosen filler has no flavour of its own at the levels used.
- Microscopy
Identifies plant tissue by its cells: olive or myrtle leaf in oregano, starch grains in a spice that should have none, stems and husk in a powder. Cheap and fast, and still one of the most reliable screens for bulking with other plant material. It needs a trained analyst and reference material, and it cannot see a dissolved dye or a mineral pigment.
- Qualitative chemical test
A reagent added to a sample that gives a colour or a precipitate when a class of substance is present. One study of bottled pomegranate sour tested for glucose syrup this way and found it in four of seven brands. Such a test shows that something is there and not how much, it answers only for the substance its reagent reacts with, and its result is no better than the judgement of the analyst reading it.
- UV-visible spectrophotometry
Measures a compound by how much light a solution of it absorbs at a defined wavelength. It is the basis of saffron grading, where crocin, picrocrocin and safranal are read at three wavelengths, and of paprika colour measurement. It shows dilution well; it cannot always say what the diluent was, and a synthetic dye absorbing in the same region can inflate a colour reading, which is why the saffron standard adds a separate test for artificial colours.
- Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR, NIR)
A fingerprint of a sample’s overall chemical composition, read in seconds and compared against authentic references. Suited to screening many samples for anything unusual — it was the main screen of the largest European survey, with suspicious samples confirmed by other methods. It flags that something is wrong more readily than it identifies what, and it is only as good as its reference library.
- Chromatography (HPLC, GC)
Separates a sample into its individual compounds — liquid chromatography for dyes and pigments, gas chromatography for volatile aroma compounds — so an analyst can find a compound that should not be there, such as a Sudan dye in chilli, or the absence or imbalance of one that should, such as coumarin revealing cassia in a product sold as Ceylon cinnamon. It answers the question it is set up to ask; an adulterant nobody looked for passes.
- Mass spectrometry
Identifies compounds by their mass, usually after chromatography (LC-MS or GC-MS). It confirms what a screen has flagged and finds very small amounts. In untargeted use it compares a sample’s whole chemical profile with authentic references, which is how most saffron sold as "Spanish" in one study was shown not to have been grown in Spain — a question of origin that no single marker compound answers. Used in targeted form it finds only the compounds it was set up to look for, so a clean result covers those and no others.
- DNA analysis
Identifies which plant species are present, by barcoding or targeted PCR. It is the method for species substitution — cassia sold as cinnamon, one herb for another, other plant material in a powder. It cannot detect dyes, minerals or exhausted material, and it weakens on heavily processed or heat-treated product, where DNA is degraded.
- Stable isotope ratio analysis
Distinguishes chemically identical molecules by the ratios of stable isotopes their origin leaves in them. It is how vanillin from vanilla beans is told apart from vanillin made from lignin or petrochemicals, which no other test can separate because the molecule is the same. A ratio places a sample only against reference values measured on authentic material, and those reference sets are still being built.
- Elemental analysis (XRF, ICP)
Measures elements such as lead and chromium, by X-ray fluorescence or plasma methods, and so detects mineral pigments like the lead chromate found in turmeric, which no organic method would see. It measures elements, not compounds: lead chromate is inferred from lead and chromium found together, not identified as such.
Explore the risks by spice, kind of fraud, method and evidence, with what each method can and cannot show.
Protected origins
Registered geographical indications and designations of origin. Each protects a name tied to a place and a method — which is why origin fraud is possible at all — and none of them is a quality grade.
Aleppo pepper
Maraş biberi: the registered description (Turkish designation of origin) · Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (register); Kahramanmaraş Chamber of Commerce and Industry (registrant)
- The fresh fruitConical, smooth, 60 to 115 mm long and 25 to 35 mm wide, with flesh 1.2 to 1.6 mm thick, weighing 8 to 14 g. It loses 75 to 80 per cent of its weight in drying.
- Hot red powderDried chillies cleaned of stalks and spoiled fruit, milled to a flour, blended with vegetable oil and sieved by size.
- Hot red flake (pul, yaprak)Broken to the size wanted, worked under the stone with vegetable oil and salt, sieved and packed.
- Hot black flake (isot)Broken red chilli put through a heating treatment the registration calls a fermentation, which turns it black without anything added, then worked with oil and salt as the red flake is.
- Dried chilliMoisture 8 to 15 per cent.
Aleppo pepper
İslahiye biberi: the registered description (Turkish designation of origin) · Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (register); Gaziantep Commodity Exchange (registrant)
- Hot flake (acı pul biber)Washed, stalks and seeds removed, cut by hand into two or three pieces, sun-dried in two stages to about 15 per cent moisture and milled to flakes of 1 to 3 mm.
- Hot powder (acı toz biber)Stalks and seeds removed, dried to under 11 per cent moisture and milled to a flour. Sun-dried lots are left in the sun for an hour or two after milling to darken, then mixed with olive oil in the amount the Turkish Food Codex allows.
- IsotSliced ripe chillies are part-dried, sweated in bags, dried and milled to flake. The flake is then wetted, warmed and held for 30 to 36 hours in insulated tanks, where the registration says it reaches 80 to 90 °C, before oil and salt are added.
- Dried fruitMoisture 7 to 9 g per 100 g, against 70 to 72 in the fresh fruit.
Anardana
Indian geographical indications · Geographical Indications Registry, Government of India
- Ramban AnardanaDried wild pomegranate seed, Jammu region. Registered 2024.
Asafoetida
Indian geographical indications · Geographical Indications Registry, Government of India
- Hathras HingUttar Pradesh. Registered 2023. Proprietor: Hathras Hing Trade Association.
Basil
Arapgir mor reyhanı: the registered description (Turkish designation of origin) · Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (register); Arapgir Municipality (registrant)
- Volatiles of the plant, 2014 to 2016Ranges by share of peak area across three years: linalool 20.00 to 65.90 per cent, 1,8-cineole 4.00 to 19.65, methyl cinnamate 4.20 to 11.35. 130 volatile compounds were found in flower, stem and leaf, fresh and dried.
- Oil of the dried basilRanges by share of peak area across three years: methyl cinnamate 5.24 to 33.15 per cent, linalool 7.15 to 24.88, eugenol 1.70 to 6.37, 1,8-cineole 1.15 to 4.80.
- EstragoleNot found in the volatiles or the oil in any of the three years. The registration names its absence from the fresh plant, with the purple colour, as what sets this basil apart.
Bay leaf
Türk defnesi: the registered description (Turkish geographical indication) · Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (register); General Directorate of Forestry (registrant)
- Hand-pickedWhole dry leaves 4 to 7 cm long, of lively colour, free of insect damage and twigs. No broken or spotted leaves.
- Hand-selectedLeaves that have kept their colour, free of insect damage and twigs; size does not matter.
- Semi-selectedLeaves whose colour has gone off, with no diseased leaves and no twigs; size does not matter.
- Fair average qualityBroken dry leaves with no diseased leaves among them.
- Broken leafSmall broken dry leaves used in spice manufacture. The registration prints the English name as “Graund Leaf”.
- Every classMoisture at most 8 per cent; essential oil at least 1 ml per 100 g of dry matter; organic foreign matter at most 0.1 per cent. Below the first class, broken leaves at most 15 per cent and spotted leaves at most 10.
Black cardamom
Indian geographical indications · Geographical Indications Registry, Government of India
- Sikkim Large CardamomRegistered 2015 (certificate dated 23 March 2015). Proprietor: North Eastern Regional Agricultural Marketing Corporation.
Black cumin
Indian geographical indications · Geographical Indications Registry, Government of India
- Himachali Kala ZeeraKinnaur, Himachal Pradesh. Registered 2019.
Black pepper
Indian geographical indications · Geographical Indications Registry, Government of India
- Malabar PepperRegistered 2008 (certificate dated 21 January 2008). Proprietor: Spices Board, Kochi.
Black pepper
EU protected geographical indications · European Commission (eAmbrosia register)
- Kampot pepper (Mrech Kampot, Poivre de Kampot)EU PGI, 2016. Black, red and white pepper from Kampot and Kep, Cambodia.
- Poivre de PenjaOAPI geographical indication, 2013; EU PGI, 2022. White and black pepper from the Penja area, Cameroon.
Black pepper
Poivre de Kampot: the registered description (EU protected geographical indication) · Published by the European Commission on an application from Cambodia
- BlackDried berries at least 4 mm across; density at least 570 g per litre; dark black to grey-black. Up to 5 per cent of berries may miss the size and 2 per cent the colour. No plant waste, dust or mould; the table adds “receptacle of 5 %”.
- RedDried, fully ripe berries at least 4 mm across; density at least 570 g per litre; brown-red or dark red. No plant waste, dust or mould; “receptacle of 1 %”.
- WhiteDried berries at least 3 mm across; density at least 600 g per litre; grey-white with small yellow or light brown spots. The colour must be natural, with nothing added to change it.
- GreenFresh clusters of at least 10 berries, each berry at least 3 mm across, dark green; or berries or clusters in brine or vinegar that are still green and have not turned brown.
Calabrian chilli
Peperoncino di Calabria: the single document (EU protected geographical indication) · European Commission (register); the applicant group is not named in the part of the single document read
- HeatBetween 5,000 and 70,000 Scoville heat units, which the document calls medium-high.
- Dried chilliMoisture at most 15 per cent, whole, in pieces, flaked or powdered. Colour from brick red to deep carmine, with yellow parts only where the seeds are left in.
- Fresh fruitRed when ripe, with a green stalk, whole and unmarked; 3 to 25 cm long in the conical kinds or 1 to 4 cm across in the round ones.
Green cardamom
Indian geographical indications · Geographical Indications Registry, Government of India
- Alleppey Green CardamomRegistered 2008 (certificate dated 28 March 2008). Proprietor: Spices Board, Kochi.
- Coorg Green CardamomRegistered 2008 (certificate dated 28 March 2008). Proprietor: Spices Board, Kochi.
Chilli powder
Indian geographical indications · Geographical Indications Registry, Government of India
- Guntur Sannam ChilliAndhra Pradesh. Registered 2010.
- Byadagi ChilliKarnataka. Registered 2011.
- Mizo ChilliMizoram. Registered 2015.
- Bhiwapur ChilliMaharashtra. Registered 2017.
- Khola ChilliGoa. Registered 2019.
- Harmal ChilliGoa. Registered 2021.
- Edayur ChilliKerala. Registered 2021.
- Hathei ChilliManipur. Registered 2021.
- Dalle KhursaniSikkim and the Darjeeling hills. Registered 2021.
- Ramanathapuram Mundu ChilliTamil Nadu. Registered 2023.
- Almora Lakhori MirchiUttarakhand. Registered 2023.
- Nandurbar MirchiMaharashtra. Registered 2024.
- Warangal Chapata ChilliTelangana. Registered 2025.
- Virudhunagar Samba VattalTamil Nadu. Registered 2025.
- Khargone Lal MirchMadhya Pradesh. Registered 2026.
Chilli powder
Kayseri Cırgalan biberi: the registered description (Turkish designation of origin) · Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (register); Kocasinan Municipality (registrant)
- The powderA Scoville reading of 275 to 310 and 9 to 12 g of fat in 100 g, as the registration prints them; the colour of brick dust.
- YieldAbout 10 kg of powder from 100 kg of chilli skins.
- Drying timeThree to five days for the first picking, five to seven for the second and seven to ten for the third.
Cinnamon (Ceylon)
EU protected geographical indication · European Commission (eAmbrosia register)
- Ceylon CinnamonEU PGI, 2022. Bark and leaf of Cinnamomum zeylanicum from Sri Lanka.
Cinnamon (Ceylon)
Ceylon Cinnamon: the registered description (EU protected geographical indication) · Registered by the European Commission on an application from Sri Lanka
- QuillsLengths of about 1,050 mm, give or take about 50. Moisture not more than 15 per cent; volatile oil at least 1 per cent on dry basis; cinnamaldehyde 50 to 70 per cent of the volatile oil.
- Cut quillsQuills cut to between 20 and 525 mm. Moisture not more than 15 per cent; cinnamaldehyde 50 to 70 per cent of the volatile oil. The journal text prints the volatile oil as “equal to or less than 1 %”, which sits oddly beside the minimum set for uncut quills.
- PowderBrown to golden yellowish. Volatile oil at least 0.5 per cent on dry basis; cinnamaldehyde 50 to 70 per cent of the volatile oil.
- Quill grades, as the document describes themAlba, about 0.24 inches in diameter and brittle; Continental, about 0.63 inches, with six sub-grades; Mexican, less than 0.75 inches; Hamburg, less than 1.3 inches, thicker and darker.
Cloves
Indian geographical indications · Geographical Indications Registry, Government of India
- Kanniyakumari CloveTamil Nadu. Registered 2021.
- Thalanadan GrambKottayam, Kerala. Registered 2025.
Coriander seed
Karamanlı kişnişi: the registered description (Turkish designation of origin) · Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (register); Karamanlı Municipality (registrant)
- Essential oilBetween 0.40 and 0.45, which the registration sets against an average of 0.30 that it attributes to the American Spice Trade Association. It prints no unit.
- Linalool75 to 85 per cent of the essential oil, with γ-terpinene and α-pinene after it.
- Composition reportedFat 9.96 per cent, carbohydrate 21.62 per cent and protein 14.3 per cent on average.
Cumin
Indian geographical indications · Geographical Indications Registry, Government of India
- Unjha JeeraNorth Gujarat. Registered 2026. Proprietor: Agriculture Produce Market Committee, Unjha.
Piment d'Espelette
Protected designation of origin · European Commission (eAmbrosia register); INAO in France
- Piment d’Espelette AOPFrench AOC 2000; EU PDO 2002. Grown, dried and ground within the defined Basque communes.
Piment d'Espelette
Piment d’Espelette: the registered description (EU protected designation of origin) · Ministry of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty, France (communicating authority); European Commission (register)
- PowderOrange to reddish-brown; ground so that no particle exceeds 5 mm; moisture lower than 12 per cent. The chillies in a batch of powder must all come from one holding.
- StringsRed chillies of regular conical shape and smooth skin, 7 to 14 cm long without the stalk, strung by hand in strings of 20, 30, 40, 60, 80 or 100, with up to 15 per cent more tolerated. Only chillies grown on the holding may be strung.
- Fresh wholeFree of any green, regular and conical, smooth-skinned; kept from sun and rain and packed in slatted boxes holding at most 15 kg and no more than 25 cm high.
Fennel seed
Indian geographical indications · Geographical Indications Registry, Government of India
- Unjha FennelNorth Gujarat. Registered 2026. Proprietor: Agriculture Produce Market Committee, Unjha.
Garlic
Indian geographical indications · Geographical Indications Registry, Government of India
- Kodaikanal MalaipoonduHill garlic of Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu. Registered 2019.
- Kanthalloor Vattavada GarlicIdukki, Kerala. Registered 2022.
- Ratlam Riyawan LahsunMadhya Pradesh. Registered 2024.
Ghost pepper
Indian geographical indications · Geographical Indications Registry, Government of India
- Naga MirchaNagaland. Registered 2003 (certificate dated 2 December 2003), among the earliest Indian spice registrations. Proprietor: Department of Horticulture & Agriculture, Government of Nagaland.
Ginger
Indian geographical indications · Geographical Indications Registry, Government of India
- Assam Karbi Anglong GingerRegistered 2015.
- Mizo GingerMizoram. Registered 2021.
- Arunachal Pradesh Adi KekirLower Dibang Valley. Registered 2024.
Habanero
Chile habanero de la Península de Yucatán: NOM-189-SCFI-2017 (Mexican denomination of origin) · Secretaría de Economía, Dirección General de Normas (Mexico)
- HeatMore than 6.5 mg of capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin per gram of dry weight in unripe fruit, which the norm equates to 104,650 Scoville units, and more than 12.5 mg per gram in ripe fruit, equated to 201,250.
- ExtraFree of defects, save those covering up to 0.5 per cent of the surface of the fruit.
- Category I and Category IIDefects over more than 0.5 and up to 2 per cent of the surface for Category I; more than 2 and up to 3 per cent for Category II.
- Industrial useFruit for processing, with defects over up to 25 per cent of the surface.
- SizeSmall under 2 cm long, medium 2 to 3.9 cm, large over 4 cm.
Kokum
Indian geographical indications · Geographical Indications Registry, Government of India
- Sindhudurg & Ratnagiri KokumKonkan coast of Maharashtra. Registered 2016.
Long pepper
Indian geographical indications · Geographical Indications Registry, Government of India
- Amravati PippaliMaharashtra. Registered 2025.
Mint
Nizip nanesi: the registered description (Turkish designation of origin) · Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (register); Nizip Commodity Exchange (registrant)
- Dried mintMoisture at most 10 per cent; foreign matter at most 0.1; total ash at most 12 and acid-insoluble ash at most 2.5 per cent of dry matter; stalk and twig at most 5 per cent; essential oil at least 0.7 ml per 100 g, not reckoned on dry matter.
- Oil of the fresh mintCarvone 40 to 70 per cent and limonene about 20 per cent on average, as the registration describes the oil. No limit is set on either.
Oregano
Sütçüler kekik yağı: the registered description (Turkish designation of origin) · Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (register); Isparta Special Provincial Administration (registrant)
- Oil compositionCarvacrol at least 50 per cent; thymol at most 25; p-cymene 1 to 17; borneol 1 to 8; γ-terpinene at most 5; α-terpinene at most 1.
Paprika
Szegedi fűszerpaprika-őrlemény: the description applied for (EU protected designation of origin) · Szegedi Fűszerpaprika Konzorcium (applicant); European Commission (register)
- Non-pungentCapsaicin not exceeding 100 mg per kg.
- Moderately hotCapsaicin of 100 to 200 mg per kg.
- HotCapsaicin above 200 mg per kg.
- Every classTotal pigment at least 3.9 g per kg of dry matter, or an ASTA colour value of at least 120, at the time of packaging; moisture at most 11.0 per cent by mass; sand at most 0.5 per cent of dry matter; the whole powder to pass a 0.5 mm sieve.
Paprika
Kalocsai fűszerpaprika-őrlemény: the description applied for (EU protected designation of origin) · Kalocsai Fűszerpaprika-őrlemény védelméért polgári jogi társaság (applicant); European Commission (register)
- Non-pungentNo figure is given: the summary says only that the capsaicin content is a characteristic of the variety.
- Moderately hotCapsaicin of 30 to 200 mg per kg.
- SpicyCapsaicin of 200 to 500 mg per kg.
- HotCapsaicin above 500 mg per kg.
- Every classTotal pigment at least 2.6 g per kg of dry matter, or an ASTA colour value of at least 85, at the end of the minimum durability term; moisture at most 11.0 per cent by mass; sand at most 0.5 per cent of dry matter; particle size at most 0.5 mm.
Paprika
Pimentón de Murcia: the single document as amended (EU protected designation of origin) · Consejo Regulador de la Denominación de Origen Pimentón de Murcia (applicant group); European Commission (register)
- ExtraColour of at least 120 ASTA units at milling; moisture at most 14 per cent; ether extract at most 20 per cent of dry matter; total ash at most 9.4 per cent and insoluble ash at most 0.7 per cent of dry matter; capsaicin at most 0.003 per cent.
- Primera (class I)Colour of at least 90 ASTA units at milling; moisture at most 14 per cent; ether extract at most 23 per cent of dry matter; total ash at most 9.9 per cent and insoluble ash at most 1 per cent of dry matter; capsaicin at most 0.003 per cent.
- Both categoriesMilled to pass a No 16 ASTM sieve (1.19 mm mesh); arsenic at most 1 part per million and lead at most 4.
Rosemary
Tarsus biberiyesi: the registered description (Turkish geographical indication) · Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (register); Tarsus Municipality and the local forest directorate (registrants)
- Dried leafMoisture at most 10 per cent. Essential oil 1.5 to 2.4 per cent of the dry leaf. 1,8-cineole at least 40 per cent of the oil.
Saffron
Azafrán de La Mancha: the registered specification · Junta de Comunidades de Castilla-La Mancha, for a protected designation of origin
- Purity and shapeParts of the saffron flower not meant as spice (petals, loose styles, stamens, pollen, parts of the ovary) not more than 0.5 per cent by weight; matter from anywhere else not more than 0.1 per cent. Stigma at least twice as long as the style, with a tolerance of 1 per cent.
- ChemistryMoisture and volatile matter below 11 per cent; colouring power above 200; aromatic power above 20; bitter power, as picrocrocin, above 70. Artificial colourants are tested for.
- Pack and labelThreads only, in packs of no more than 100 g net, packed within twelve months of production. The label must give the name of the designation, the harvest year, a best-before date of three years and a statement that it is a product of Spain, and the pack carries a numbered back label.
Saffron
Zafferano dell’Aquila: the published summary (EU protected designation of origin) · European Commission (register); Cooperativa Altopiano di Navelli (applicant group)
- ThreadsCrocin above 6 per cent and safranal above 4 per cent; an absorbance figure at 440 nm above 0.800 and a picrocrocin figure above 0.400, as the table prints them.
- PowderCrocin above 7.5 per cent and safranal above 3 per cent; the absorbance figure at 440 nm above 1 and the picrocrocin figure above 0.400.
- PackPaper envelopes or small glass jars, never plastic; the label says whether the saffron is powdered or in whole stigmas.
Saffron
Zafferano di San Gimignano: the published summary (EU protected designation of origin) · European Commission (register); Comitato Promotore per riconoscimento DOP Zafferano di San Gimignano (applicant group)
- Category IOn dry matter: colouring power, read at about 440 nm, at least 190; bitterness, read at about 257 nm, at least 70; aromatic power, as safranal, read at about 330 nm, from 20 to 50. The summary cites the 1993 edition of the international saffron standard.
- PackWhole stigmas only, in packs of 0.1 to 1 gram.
Saffron
Zafferano di Sardegna: the single document (EU protected designation of origin) · European Commission (register); the applicant group is not named in the single document
- Category IOn dry matter: colouring power, read at about 440 nm, at least 190; bitterness, read at about 257 nm, at least 70; aromatic power, as safranal, read at about 330 nm, from 20 to 50.
- PackPacks of 0.25, 0.50, 1, 2 and 5 g, with a stamp carrying a serial number.
Saffron
Safranbolu safranı: the registered description (Turkish designation of origin) · Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (register); Safranbolu Chamber of Tradesmen and Craftsmen (registrant)
- Distinguishing limitsOn dry matter: bitterness, as picrocrocin, at least 70; safranal 20 to 50; colouring strength, as crocin, at least 190. The registration prints each with a percentage sign.
- One analysis reportedMoisture and volatile matter 9.6 per cent, ash 4.9, acid-insoluble ash 0.1, matter soluble in cold water 62.0, total nitrogen 2.77, crude fibre 4.0; bitterness 83.0, safranal 29.0, colouring strength 231.0.
Saffron
Indian geographical indications · Geographical Indications Registry, Government of India
- Kashmir SaffronRegistered 2020 (certificate dated 1 May 2020). Proprietor: Directorate of Agriculture, Kashmir.
Salt
Sel de Guérande and Fleur de sel de Guérande: the registered description (EU protected geographical indication) · European Commission (register); the applicant group is not named in the single document
- Sel de GuérandeGrey salt crystallised on the clay base of the pan, and products made by drying or grinding it. No figure is given.
- Fleur de sel de GuérandeWhite salt skimmed from the surface of the brine. No figure is given.
Salt
Sal de Tavira and Flor de Sal de Tavira: the single document (EU protected designation of origin) · European Commission (register); the applicant group is not named in the single document
- Sal de TaviraSodium chloride 97.10 per cent, magnesium 0.50, potassium 0.15, calcium 0.10, sulphates 0.92; iron 21 mg/kg and lead 0.559 mg/kg. White, or yellow if it rained. Printed as properties, without saying whether they are limits.
- Flor de Sal de TaviraSodium chloride 97.70 per cent, magnesium 0.69, potassium 0.22, calcium 0.14, sulphates 1.25; iron 4 mg/kg and lead 0.048 mg/kg. White, in very fine flakes that crumble between the fingers.
Salt
Sal de Rio Maior and Flor de Sal de Rio Maior: the single document (EU protected designation of origin) · European Commission (register); the applicant group is not named in the single document
- Both saltsSodium chloride 97 to 99 per cent; magnesium below 0.02 per cent; selenium below 0.1 mg/kg. Grain size 1 to 4 mm; moisture at most 4 per cent.
Smoked paprika
Pimentón de la Vera: the registered specification · Regulatory Board of the designation; registered in the European Union by Regulation (EC) No 982/2007
- The milled paprikaMilled to pass a 1.19 mm sieve (ASTM No 16). Moisture not more than 14 per cent; ether extract not more than 23, crude fibre not more than 28, total ash not more than 9 and insoluble ash not more than 1, on dry matter. Colour at least 90 ASTA units at the time of milling. Edible sunflower oil may be added up to 3 per cent of the dry product. No artificial colouring.
- The varieties, as tabledASTA colour of the dried pericarp by variety, from the specification’s own tables: Jaranda 140 to 200, Jariza 130 to 200, Jeromín 120 to 190, Bola 90 to 140. Jeromín is the only one of the four listed with capsaicin present.
Sumac
Maraş sumak ekşisi akıtı: the registered description (Turkish geographical indication) · Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (register); Kahramanmaraş Metropolitan Municipality (registrant)
- Reference figuresWater-soluble dry matter 61.85 per cent, total acidity 5.58 per cent as malic acid, pH 1.27, viscosity 70 cP.
- Range across samplesWater-soluble dry matter 50.14 to 70.16 per cent, total acidity 4.44 to 6.87 per cent, pH 0.72 to 1.85, viscosity 37 to 105 cP. The registration itself calls these limits wide.
Sumac
Maraş sumak ekşi külü: the registered description (Turkish geographical indication) · Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (register); Kahramanmaraş Metropolitan Municipality (registrant)
- Yaprak (flake)80 per cent outer fruit layer and 20 per cent ground seed; the coarsest of the three, sized on a 2.75 to 3.00 mm sieve.
- İri (coarse)65 per cent outer fruit layer and 35 per cent ground seed; 2.25 mm sieve.
- Toz (powder)50 per cent outer fruit layer and 50 per cent ground seed; 1.5 mm sieve.
- All threeMoisture 9.42 to 12.14 per cent, ash 1.68 to 6.69 per cent, pH 2.76 to 3.05, salt 1.3 to 5.67 per cent.
Tamarind
Indian geographical indications · Geographical Indications Registry, Government of India
- Panchincholi TamarindLatur, Maharashtra. Registered 2024.
Turmeric
Indian geographical indications · Geographical Indications Registry, Government of India
- Waigaon TurmericMaharashtra. Registered 2016.
- Sangli TurmericMaharashtra. Registered 2018.
- Erode Manjal (Erode Turmeric)Tamil Nadu. Registered 2019.
- Kandhamal HaladiOdisha. Registered 2019.
- Vasmat HaldiMaharashtra. Registered 2024.
- Lakadong TurmericMeghalaya. Registered 2024.
Urfa biber
Şanlıurfa biberi: the registered description (Turkish designation of origin) · Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (register); Şanlıurfa Metropolitan Municipality (registrant)
- Hot, first classAt most 0.02 foreign matter, 11.0 moisture, 8.5 total ash, 1.0 acid-insoluble ash and 25 cellulose; at least 15.0 ether extract. The table gives no units for most rows; ash, extract and cellulose are on dry matter.
- Hot, second classAt most 0.03 foreign matter, 11.0 moisture, 10.0 total ash, 1.6 acid-insoluble ash and 30 cellulose; at least 15.0 ether extract. Colour may run from pink to red.
- Sweet, first and second classThe same table sets limits for sweet chilli: total ash at most 7.0 and 8.5, acid-insoluble ash 0.5 and 1.0, cellulose 25 for both.
Vanilla
Vainilla de Papantla: NOM-182-SCFI-2011 (Mexican denomination of origin) · Secretaría de Economía, Dirección General de Normas (Mexico)
- Cured podLonger than 15 cm; moisture 25 to 38 per cent; vanillin at least 2.0 per cent of dry matter. Up to four surface calluses of 3 mm each are allowed.
- Minor aroma compoundsHydroxybenzoic acid 58 to 100 parts per million, vanillic acid 411 to 861 and hydroxybenzaldehyde 219 to 498.
- MicrobiologyAerobic mesophilic bacteria at most 100 colony-forming units per gram, moulds and yeasts at most 10; coliforms and Salmonella absent.
- ExtractAmber liquid of vanilla pods, alcohol and water, with at least 35 per cent ethanol by volume and at least one unit of concentration: the extract of 100 g of cured pods in a litre of solvent.
- Ground vanilla and vanilla powderGround Papantla vanilla is milled cured pods with nothing added. Vanilla powder may be ground pods or oleoresin mixed with sugar, dextrose, lactose, starch, dried corn syrup or acacia gum.
Pomegranate molasses
Hatay nar ekşisi: the registered description (Turkish geographical indication) · Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (register); Antakya Chamber of Commerce and Industry (registrant)
- Ranges givenSoluble solids 67 to 75 per cent; pH 2.03 to 3.34; acidity 5.57 to 9 per cent as citric acid; total sugar 45.6 to 59.1 per cent; glucose to fructose ratio 1.01 to 1.19; moisture 17.5 to 26.1 per cent.
Pomegranate molasses
Oğuzeli nar ekşisi: the registered description (Turkish geographical indication) · Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (register); Oğuzeli Municipality (registrant)
- Reference figuresSoluble solids 69.8 per cent; acidity 7.17 per cent as citric acid; pH 3.4; hydroxymethylfurfural 4,522.57 mg/kg; no sucrose.
Verjuice
Gaziantep koruk ekşisi: the registered description (Turkish geographical indication) · Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (register); Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality (registrant)
- LiquidSoluble solids of 65 to 68 per cent. This is the only figure the registration gives.
- PowderUnripe grapes dried on the bunch and ground. No figure is given.
Erik ekşisi
Malatya erik ekşisi: the registered description (Turkish geographical indication) · Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (register); Yeşilyurt Municipality (registrant)
- Plums allowedTozlu (İncaz eriği), Üzüm eriği, Hüvenk eriği, Al erik, Dutdüştü, Bardak, Gelinboğan, Hacıahmet, Hızan, Güzlük can eriği and Mardik, grown in the province.
- CompositionFor 30 kg of plums, 20 litres of water and 380 g of salt, giving about 5 kg of sour. Nothing else is added.
- KeepingTwelve months in a cool place out of the sun.
Quality systems that apply across spices
Laws, tolerances and published specifications that apply to many spices, with what kind of rule each is and who stands behind it.
Explore every grade, standard and protected name by spice, kind of rule and place, including the ones that belong to a single spice.
Codex standards for spices and culinary herbs
Voluntary specificationFAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission · International standard
A published specification that no law requires. It applies where a buyer, a seller or a government chooses to adopt it.
Since 2017 the Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs has adopted commodity standards — pepper, cumin, thyme, oregano, ginger, cloves, basil and garlic among them — setting what a product sold under the name must be, its permitted forms, and physical and chemical quality criteria. Codex standards are adopted into national law by governments rather than applying directly.
What it tells you: That a product meeting the standard is what its name says and clears defined quality floors. Codex sets minimums for trade, not premium grades.
ISO spice specifications and test methods
Voluntary specificationInternational Organization for Standardization, TC 34/SC 7 · International standard
A published specification that no law requires. It applies where a buyer, a seller or a government chooses to adopt it.
A family of specifications for individual spices — saffron, vanilla, pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, paprika and more — and the test methods behind them: moisture, ash, volatile oil, extraneous matter, colour. Voluntary unless a contract or a regulation adopts them, and the reference that trade grades are measured against.
What it tells you: That a measured sample met defined limits by a defined method. A category is a laboratory result on a lot, not a property of a brand.
ASTA cleanliness specifications
Voluntary specificationAmerican Spice Trade Association · Voluntary standard
A published specification that no law requires. It applies where a buyer, a seller or a government chooses to adopt it.
Trade specifications for the cleanliness of spices entering the United States — limits on extraneous matter, insect and animal contamination, mould and similar defects — and the analytical methods the trade uses, including the colour units in which paprika and chilli are sold. Written by the industry body and adopted by contract.
What it tells you: That a lot met a cleanliness floor the US trade agreed. It is a physical-cleanliness measure and says nothing about flavour, origin or species.
European Spice Association quality minima
Voluntary specificationEuropean Spice Association · Voluntary standard
A published specification that no law requires. It applies where a buyer, a seller or a government chooses to adopt it.
The quality minima European processors ask of dried herbs and spices bought for further processing in the EU, covering extraneous matter, moisture, ash, volatile oil, microbiology, residues and adulteration. It is the buyers’ own document and binds only where a purchase contract adopts it.
What it tells you: That a lot was bought to the specification most European processors use as a floor. Retail packs rarely say so, and a consumer cannot check it.
United States food defect action levels
Defect toleranceUnited States Food and Drug Administration · Applies in United States · National standard
The level of a defect at which one regulator acts. It is not a grade, and a lot within it is lawful on that count, not thereby good.
The United States regulator publishes, product by product, the level of natural or unavoidable defects at or above which it will treat a lot as adulterated: insect-infested or mouldy pieces, insect fragments, rodent hairs, mammalian excreta, stems, sand and grit. It lists levels for allspice, bay leaves, capsicum and paprika, cassia and cinnamon, cloves, cumin seed, curry powder, fennel seed, ginger, mace, marjoram, nutmeg, oregano, pepper, sage, sesame seed and thyme, for other leafy spices and for other condimental seeds. The agency says the levels are not averages of what is found, which are much lower; that a maker need not be content to stay just under one; that poor manufacturing practice can bring action whatever the count; and that blending a lot above a level with a cleaner one is not permitted. Where no level is listed it judges case by case.
What it tells you: The point at which one regulator acts, in one country. It is a tolerance for enforcement and not a grade: it says nothing about flavour, strength, species or origin, and a lot within the levels is lawful on this count, not thereby good.
AGMARK grade designations (India)
Trade gradeDirectorate of Marketing and Inspection, Government of India · Applies in India · National standard
Named grades the trade sorts a commodity into. A grade describes the properties it is defined on, usually size, cleanliness and appearance, and predicts flavour only so far as those do.
An Indian Act of 1937 lets the central government fix named grades for a scheduled article, define the quality each grade stands for, and authorise packers to mark goods with it. Pepper, cardamom, ginger, chillies, turmeric, curry powder and “condiments and spices” are all on the schedule. Marking without authority and selling goods that fall short of the grade they carry are offences. Grading is not general: the Act lets the government declare, by notice and for named areas, that an article may be sold only when graded, and no such notice was read. The rules for spices were remade in 2012 with two grades, Special and Standard, for each of twelve spices whole and powdered; later schedules for cloves, ajowan and white pepper, and the separate rules for saffron, add a third, General. In those rules the old names of the pepper trade survive only as optional marks.
What it tells you: That goods carrying the mark were sorted into a named grade by an authorised packer in India, on limits for cleanliness and moisture and, in most schedules, a minimum of volatile oil. It grades what is packed under the mark and nothing else, and what a grade promises differs from spice to spice.
United States labelling definition of “spice”
Labelling definitionUnited States Food and Drug Administration · Applies in United States · National standard
A legal definition of a word on a label in one country. It governs how a product is described, not its quality.
United States labelling law defines a spice as any aromatic vegetable substance, whole, broken or ground, whose significant function in food is seasoning rather than nutrition, that is true to name, and from which no portion of any volatile oil or other flavouring principle has been removed. Substances traditionally regarded as foods, such as onions, garlic and celery, are excluded. The paragraph lists thirty-five examples, from allspice to turmeric, and requires paprika, turmeric, saffron and other spices that are also colours to be declared as “spice and coloring” unless named.
What it tells you: That on a United States label the word “spice” cannot lawfully cover material whose oil has been taken out, nor onion or garlic, which have to be named. It is a rule about a word on a label in one country: it sets no limit on moisture, ash or oil, and proves nothing about a particular jar.
What traceability can and cannot prove
Supply-chain documents answer narrower questions than they appear to. Each is set out with what it establishes and what it leaves open.
- Lot and batch traceability
- What it shows:
EU food law requires every business to identify the supplier it bought from and the business it sold to — one step back and one step forward — and to be able to produce that record to authorities. Lot codes carry it through processing and packing, which is what makes a targeted recall possible.
What it does not show: What happened to the spice before the last step it can see. Spices pass through many hands — grower, collector, trader, processor, exporter, importer, packer — and a record of each handover is not evidence of what the product is.
- Certificate of analysis
- What it shows:
That a laboratory tested a sample of a lot for the parameters listed — moisture, volatile oil, microbiology, residues, sometimes a targeted adulterant — and obtained the results shown.
What it does not show: Anything it did not test for. Adulteration is chosen to pass the tests expected of the product, which is why the fraud surveys that found it used screening methods — spectroscopy, DNA, microscopy — beyond a routine certificate.
- Organic certification
- What it shows:
That the operator is certified and inspected under an organic scheme, which in the EU governs how the crop was grown and handled and how the operators in the chain are controlled.
What it does not show: That a particular lot is pure, correctly identified or free of contaminants. Organic is a production-method claim, and the laboratory screening that finds adulteration is a separate matter.
- Geographical indication or designation of origin
- What it shows:
That the name is protected, and a product lawfully sold under it comes from the registered area and was produced under the registration’s controls.
What it does not show: Freshness, or that the product is better than an unregistered one from elsewhere. It proves origin under a control system and is not a quality grade; false use of a registered name is itself a form of origin fraud.
- Country-of-origin labelling
- What it shows:
In the EU, origin must be stated where leaving it out would mislead, and where an origin is given for a food whose main ingredient comes from somewhere else, that has to be said too.
What it does not show: Where a spice was grown, in the ordinary case. A spice packed or processed in one country can be sold from it, and the gap between Spain’s saffron exports and its harvest is the standing example of what that allows.
Questions this page answers
- which spices are most often adulterated
- spice fraud by spice
- how to tell if spices are fake
- is my spice adulterated