Legislation on aromatic herbs in food
European Union
Mar 04, 2021
Many countries have national regulations on spices and aromatic herbs in compliance with international standards. The quality standards are regularly updated with dynamic regulations. Microbiological, chemical, and physical requirements are set and controlled by regulatory authorities. The international regulatory authority dealing with spices and aromatic herbs is the Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs, which is one of the committees of the Codex Alimentarius Commission. There are many organizations setting limits, regulations, and standards on spices and aromatic herbs industry, including The European Spice Association and European Commission. Potential public health risks are a significant concern in spice and aromatic herbs industry. To reduce this potential risk and eliminate quality defects, legislations include qualitative and quantitative values on microorganisms, mycotoxins, pesticides, heavy metals, irradiation dose to be applied, physical factors, illegal colorants such as Sudan dyes or Para red, illegal food additives, etc. In this chapter, international and national regulations, and supporting guidance documents have been discussed.