fragments of insects, whole insects, rodent hairs, quality is not always there

In the weekend consumption info a large survey on the quality of the spices that we regularly use in the kitchen. The point on the situation with Patricia Fleshopoulos of “60 million consumers.”

In 10 years, spice consumption has increased by 30% and the French are today the 3rd largest consumers in Europe behind the Germans and the Belgians. Unfortunately, the quality is not always there, far from it.

The 60 million review tested 40 references of Provence herbs, peppers, curry, and cinnamon.

Franceinfo: The results are still quite confusing, because it is not uncommon to find insect residues in certain spices

Patricia Chairopoulos: Yes, the herbs of Provence and the canes that we have analyzed contain large quantities of foreign bodies, both fragments of insects, but also whole insects, rodent hairs, or even plastic fragments.

Depending on your survey, the Provence herbs are by far the most contaminated products, even the Label Rouge products leave something to be desired?

None of the 10 references of Provence herbs in our study escapes fragments of insects or whole insects, the record being held by two organic references which contain 170 fragments for 50 grams of product. According to manufacturers, this presence is difficult to avoid organic, where the use of synthetic insecticide is banned. As for Label Rouge products, there are also fragments of insects, but in lower quantities. We can still be surprised by this pollution, because the specifications of the Red Label is very strict. In addition, some rodent hairs were present in three references. It is safe, but not very steep for the consumer.

What about the provenance? Are the Provence herbs that we buy well harvested in the land of cicadas?

Despite their name, no! Except for Provence herbs which benefit from the Red Label (15 % of the total sales). This label guarantees a France origin, of high organoleptic qualities and a precise composition: rosemary, savory, oregano and thyme. Otherwise, for obvious reasons of costs, the vast majority of mixtures of aromatic herbs come from Poland, Morocco or Turkey.

There is the problem of pesticides too. Have you found a lot?

We have found pesticide residues in half of our references, except the BIOS. Aside from the canellates, which do not contain almost no pesticides, the other spices are not spared. Thus three of our ten currys contain several residues. Big disappointment with Provence herbs, the most contaminated family of our study. Even Label Rouge products are concerned, one of the references with seven pesticide residues! Only three Provence herbs escape this contamination. Black peppers are hardly better. Two -thirds display between a residue and five residues.

You have found pesticide residues, some of which are prohibited within the European Union … There are no controls?

In these three fairly contaminated families, we have found several prohibited substances in Europe, such as the imidaclopride present in six peppers! Two peppers even contain two prohibited pesticide residues. We have penalized them, but it is authorized to find them in the products below the maximum limits fixed.

When you buy curry, you can notice that the color varies depending on the brands. Does this mean that ingredients differ from one manufacturer to another?

Yes, because there is no regulation on the composition of currys. In other words, mixtures can vary from one manufacturer to another, knowing that turmeric and coriander are generally at the top of the ingredients.

From an aromatic point of view, does this give very variable results?

Of course, but the very quality of the plant used counts. The aromatic intensity of spices is measured according to their essential oil rate, but also, for curry, according to the quantity of curcumin, the active principle of turmeric. The best rated curry of our panel is an organic reference, with 2.4 % essential oils against 0.4 % for one of the currys at the bottom of the classification. We see the difference!

Have you found falsified products in the samples you have tested? (Adding starch, for example)

Manufacturers can add starch to powdered spices, which is cheaper. Moreover, some of our currys display among the ingredients of potato starch. On the ground peppers, our results do not evoke fraud; The measured contents correspond to the starch naturally present in the grain. However, doubts are allowed on a few caneals, in particular the cheapest of our study with 34.5 grams of starch per 100 g, four times more than the average of this family.

Should organic products be favored? Is it a quality guarantee?

Overall yes, our organic products are doing better, already because they do not contain pesticide residues and moreover, part of them have good aromatic quality. But they are more expensive: up to eight times higher than those of conventional products.