Pesticide Residues in Indian Spices

Spices are the most valuable and highly priced food ingredient used for flavoring or coloring in addition to its use in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and perfume industries. India is a leading producer and exporter of many spices in the world. To maintain and continue its pioneer position in the world market, universal acceptability of Indian spice products without contaminants and residues is an essential pre-requisite. Based on the recommendations of the FAO/WHO Joint Meeting on Pesticide Residues (JMPR), the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) has prescribed guideline documents for maximum residue limit (MRL) fixation in spices on an international level, since the 1970s. The Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs (CCSCH) was formed under CAC in 2013 to standardize and notify quality standards for all spices and herbs in India. It is the youngest of the Codex Commodity Committees and is chaired by India with the Spices Board, India as its Secretariat, which is the flagship organization for the development and worldwide promotion of Indian spices. The MRL values on spices based on local Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) and dietary consumption patterns are fixed together by the involvement of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). Pesticide monitoring programs are designed to make sure that MRLs in agricultural products do not exceed those permitted by the government, and pesticides are not misused in a way that could leave unexpected residues in food. Different analytical methods have been developed and validated worldwide, for the determination of pesticide residues in spices, and one of the major issues in the development of extraction methodology of pesticide residue in spices is the complex matrix type and higher concentration of co-extractives which need to be addressed for precise results. In Kerala, “market basket monitoring” across the state during 2014 to 2022 revealed the presence of an array of pesticide residues, in which ethion was the most frequently detected pesticide in different spices and spice products. Results of supervised field trials based on GAPs on various spice crops conducted at different locations across India have also been presented in this chapter which is very essential for fixing the maximum residue limits (MRLs). More emphasis should be given to post-harvest handling procedures involving various decontamination procedures to remove pesticide residue accumulation in spice products to earn more foreign exchange and avoid rejection of export consignments.