Source library
Why this page exists
Every citation on SpiceHQ points here, so a source can be assessed once and that assessment flows through to every claim depending on it. The scope note on each entry matters as much as the citation: Kew is authoritative on botanical identity and silent on flavour, and treating it otherwise would be misusing it.
American Spice Trade Association — cleanliness specifications and analytical methods
Industry bodymedium reliabilityAmerican Spice Trade Association
Trade cleanliness specifications and colour measurement conventions. An industry body, so commercially interested.
Assessment report on Illicium verum Hook. f., fructus
Governmenthigh reliabilityEuropean Medicines Agency, Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products (HMPC)
Regulatory review of star anise fruit, including composition and the documented adulteration of Illicium verum with Illicium anisatum. A medicines assessment, so its dosing context is medicinal rather than culinary.
Chemistry of Spices
Bookhigh reliabilityV. A. Parthasarathy, B. Chempakam, T. J. Zachariah · CABI · 2008
Volatile and non-volatile composition of major spices, and the effect of processing on composition.
ISBN 9781845934057
Codex Alimentarius standards for spices and culinary herbs
Standards bodyhigh reliabilityFAO / WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission
International food standards, including compositional and contaminant limits.
Coumarin in flavourings and other food ingredients with flavouring properties — Scientific Opinion of the Panel on Food Additives, Flavourings, Processing Aids and Materials in Contact with Food
Governmenthigh reliabilityEuropean Food Safety Authority · 2008
Tolerable daily intake for coumarin. Directly relevant to cassia cinnamon, which is a significant dietary source.
Dangerous Tastes: The Story of Spices
Bookhigh reliabilityAndrew Dalby · British Museum Press · 2000
History of the spice trade and the documentary record of individual spices in the ancient and medieval world.
ISBN 9780714127200
Established culinary practice
Customary practiceunassessed reliabilityWidely repeated, consistently observed cooking practice with no single authoritative publication behind it. Cited so that conventional knowledge is visibly labelled as convention rather than presented as research. It is not a substitute for a citation and may never support a safety or health claim.
Evaluation of eugenol and related hydroxyallylbenzene derivatives
Standards bodyhigh reliabilityJoint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), WHO Food Additives Series
Toxicological evaluation of eugenol as a flavouring substance, including an acceptable daily intake. The specific current figure must be read from the monograph rather than quoted second-hand, and applies to eugenol as an isolated substance rather than to whole cloves.
FAOSTAT production statistics
Governmenthigh reliabilityFood and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
National production and trade volumes. Spice categories are aggregated in ways that do not always match culinary categories.
FDA Issues Advisory on Star Anise "Teas"
Governmenthigh reliabilityUnited States Food and Drug Administration · 2003
A regulatory advisory prompted by illness reports associated with star anise infusions, where Chinese star anise was suspected of being mixed with the toxic Japanese species. Relevant to species identity and to infusions specifically, not to ordinary culinary use of verified Illicium verum.
FoodData Central
Governmenthigh reliabilityUnited States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service
Nutrient composition and standard household-measure gram weights for common foods and spices. Household weights are reference figures for a typical level spoon and do not capture grind, moisture or packing variation.
Handbook of Herbs and Spices
Bookhigh reliabilityK. V. Peter (ed.) · Woodhead Publishing
Production, processing, grading and quality of individual spices across multiple volumes.
ISO/TC 34/SC 7 — Spices, culinary herbs and condiments
Standards bodyhigh reliabilityInternational Organization for Standardization
International standards for the specification, sampling and testing of spices, including grading schemes such as ISO 3632 for saffron.
Note on Capsicums
Historical primary sourcehigh reliabilityWilbur L. Scoville · Journal of the American Pharmaceutical Association · 1912
The original organoleptic dilution test that gives the Scoville scale its name. Modern figures are derived from HPLC measurement of capsaicinoids and converted, not from tasting panels.
On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen
Food sciencehigh reliabilityHarold McGee · Scribner · 2004
Food chemistry and the behaviour of aroma compounds during preparation and cooking. A secondary synthesis, not primary research.
ISBN 9780684800011
Plants of the World Online
Botanical databasehigh reliabilityRoyal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Accepted botanical names, synonymy, family placement and native distribution. Not a source for culinary, sensory or commercial information.
Public statement on the use of herbal medicinal products containing estragole
Governmenthigh reliabilityEuropean Medicines Agency, Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products (HMPC)
Regulatory assessment of estragole exposure from herbal preparations, including fennel. Concerns concentrated preparations and sustained medicinal use; it does not establish a hazard from culinary quantities of fennel seed, and must not be cited as though it does.
Regulation (EC) No 1334/2008 on flavourings and certain food ingredients with flavouring properties
Governmenthigh reliabilityEuropean Parliament and Council of the European Union · 2008
Sets maximum levels for certain substances of toxicological concern — including myristicin — in compound foodstuffs to which flavourings or food ingredients with flavouring properties have been added. Competent for the existence and regulatory treatment of those substances; it is not a clinical source and states no dose-response for whole spices.
Spice: The History of a Temptation
Bookmedium reliabilityJack Turner · Alfred A. Knopf · 2004
Narrative history of European demand for spices. Popular history: useful for context and for identifying disputed claims, weaker as a primary authority.
ISBN 9780375407215
Turmeric means 'yellow' in Bengali: Lead chromate pigments added to turmeric threaten public health across Bangladesh
Academic paperhigh reliabilityJenna E. Forsyth, et al. · Environmental Research · 2019
Documented lead chromate adulteration of turmeric in specific supply chains. Evidence is specific to the regions studied and should not be generalised to all turmeric.