FDA has updated its 2013 risk profile on pathogens and filth in spices

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has updated its 2013 risk profile on pathogens and filth in spices to include new data from the agency’s recent analysis of more than 7,000 spice samples offered for retail sale.According to an FDA statement, the new survey data in the 2017 Risk Profile: Pathogens and Filth in Spices show that the prevalence of Salmonella in nine out of 11 types of packaged dried spices in the United States was significantly lower than that for shipments of spice at import.The agency said the findings are consistent with public comments from the domestic food industry that responsible manufacturers apply a pathogen reduction treatment to many spices after entering the United States, prior to retail sale. Salmonella prevalence was significantly lower in retail samples than estimated prevalence for shipments of imported spice offered for U.S. entry, with the exception of dehydrated garlic and basil (due to low statistical significance).The 11 spices studied were basil leaf, black pepper, ground coriander seed, cumin seed, curry powder, dehydrated garlic, oregano leaf, paprika, hot red pepper, sesame seed and white pepper.