Microbiological hazards in spices and dried aromatic herbs: meeting report
Microbiological Risk Assessment series 27
Overview
Spices and dried aromatic herbs impart flavour when added to
food, and they may include many parts of the plant, including berries, flowers,
leaves, roots and seeds. A number of different pathogens have been found in
spices on the market, especially Salmonella spp., B. cereus and C.
perfringens. There have also been several disease outbreaks associated with
spices and dried aromatic herbs. An increased concern and attention to the
safety of spices and dried aromatic herbs prompted, the Codex Committee on Food
Hygiene (CCFH) to request FAO and WHO to undertake a risk assessment on
microbiological hazards in these food commodities.
An expert meeting of the FAO/WHO Joint Expert Meeting on
Microbiological Risk Assessment (JEMRA) considered the global evidence on the
burden of illness, prevalence and concentration of selected microbial hazards
with respect to various spices and dried aromatic herbs, and interventions
aimed at controlling them in these commodities. The experts developed the
approach to rank the health risks related to the commodity-pathogen
combinations, and assessed the performance of the existing Codex sampling plan
for Salmonella against several contamination scenarios.
