FDA report says 12% of imported spices tainted

Spices at open-air market
Spices at open-air market

iStockphoto

A draft of a federal government risk study to assess contamination in spices found that about 12% of shipments were tainted with pathogens such as Salmonella or filth that included insect parts or animal hair.

The detailed look at the cleanliness of the nation's spice supply unveiled by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday was prompted by a large Salmonella Rissen outbreak in the United States in 2008 and 2009 that sickened nearly 100 people in five states and was linked to ground white pepper.

A few months later, a Salmonella Montevideo and Seftenberg outbreak linked to a cracked pepper coating on salami products sickened 272 people in 44 states.

The United States imports most of its spices, except for dehydrated onions. About 86% of US households use spices, and usage has increased steadily since 1966, according to the report.

The 213-page report, written by the FDA Center for Food Safety and Nutrition, details past outbreaks, results of federal and industry product sampling, mitigation strategies, and gaps in scientific knowledge.

The FDA said the report is designed to assist with policy making decisions and help producers, importers, and other stakeholders. It said the draft of the report will be posted in the Federal Register, and it invited stakeholders and the public to comment on the findings.

Salmonella most common pathogen

The FDA team identified 14 foodborne outbreaks linked to spices from 1973 to 2010, including five in the United States. In total, the events sickened 1,946 people and led to 128 hospitalizations and 2 deaths. Investigators noted that infants and children were the hardest-hit groups in five of the outbreaks.

Ten of the outbreaks involved Salmonella enterica subtypes. Pepper spices—black, white, red, and unspecified—were implicated in nine of the outbreaks. Most of the spices were imported, which the FDA said isn't surprising, because most of the countries reporting the outbreaks are not spice-producing countries.

A review of import testing data found a 6.6% Salmonella prevalence in spice shipments, which is higher than other imported foods subject to the same FDA regulations and testing. More than 80 different Salmonella serotypes were found in the 3-year testing period that the FDA examined.

The most common filth adulterants were insect parts, whole insects, and animal hair. Nearly all the insects found in the spices were those commonly found in stored item, which hints at problems with packing and storage, the agency said.

FDA inspections in 2010 at 59 domestic facilities that pack and repack spices found that 10% had Salmonella in the environment, and problems with pest management was the most frequently cited observation.

Common safety gaps

Spices can become contaminated at several points along the production chain, the FDA said. In spice-producing countries, the items are often grown on small farms, then sold and combined with harvest from other farms. The spices are often held and dried in the open air, then sent to companies to be processed and packaged.

Treatments to reduce contamination aren't uniformly applied to all spices or all lots of a spice at a given time, the team found.

Most safety gaps are basic, such as failing to limit animal access to spice sources during harvest or drying or failing to limit insect exposure during storage, the team said. "Based on our research, we concluded that knowledge and technology are available to significantly reduce the risk of illness from consumption of contaminated spices in the United States."

Future mitigation steps could include, for example, new enforcement and regulatory steps, education, and training, the investigators found.

The FDA Food Safety Modernization Act of 2011 gives health officials new tools to boost the safety of spice shipments, including new recall authority and more frequent foreign and domestic inspections, according to the report. The authors also credited spice and food trade groups for developing recent guidance to control contamination.

Federal Register comments can be submitted starting on Nov 4, the FDA said.

See also:

Oct 30 FDA draft risk profile on contamination in spices

Oct 30 FDA press release on the report

Federal Register notice

This week's top reads