Frequency of fraud on herbs and spices

Cumin, curcuma, paprika/chilli, pepper, oregano, saffron

• Timing: The coordinated control plan was executed in 2019-2021.
• Samples: 1900 samples from Twenty-one EU Member States plus Norway and Switzerland were tested.
• Methods used:  High performance liquid chromatography coupled to high resolution mass spectrometry (HPLC-HRMS), energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (ED-XRF),  thermogravimetric analysis (TGA),  digital droplet polymerase chain reaction (ddPCR), next generation sequencing (NGS),  real-time PCR (rt-PCR); fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR)
• Outcome: The overall rate of suspicious samples was 17% (323 of a total of 1885 analysed samples), which is less than what was previously reported in the scientific literature or by national food control institutions.

Read the full report here or watch the video describing the results.

 

Cinnamon/cassia:

• Timing: The survey was conducted 2024-2025.
• Samples: 104 commercially available cinnamon samples from Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, France (including some in Martinique), Germany, Greece, Italy, Malta, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, Sri Lanka and UK were tested
• Methods used: energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (ED-XRF),  and fourier transform raman spectroscopy (FT-Raman), head space-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-GC-MS),  DNA analyses
• Outcome: 66.3% of samples either did not fulfil quality criteria set by international standards, were not compliant with European food safety legislation, were suspicious of fraud, or could be toxic for children due to a high content of coumarin. Substitution of Ceylon by Cassia cinnamon, so far the most recognised type of fraud, was not the problem most frequently detected in this study.

Read the relevant publication here.