Irradiation and other reasons to buy organic herbs and spices

[Guest guest]

GREEN LIVING EATING RIGHT

Spice it Up

Let Organic Seasonings Add Flavor to Your Day

By Mark Harris

Maybe it's our growing appetite for spicy ethnic and

foreign cuisines,

or maybe it's just that our palates thrill to the zip

added by

seasoning anything thrown on the grill. Whatever the

reason, Americans

are clearly running hot for spices. Last year, we

consumed close to a

billion pounds of the stuff, almost four pounds per

person, according

to the American Spice Trade Association, a near 20

percent jump over

the last decade.

 

 

 

An Indonesian farmer inspects his crops. Through

groups like

ForesTrade, indigenous spice producers are encouraged

to practice

sustainable agricultural methods.

© ForesTrade

 

 

But as liberally as we're shaking out the spices,

chances are that few

of us -- environmentalists included -- think much

about their origin

or impact on the planet. We should, according to

Thomas Fricke,

cofounder and president of ForesTrade, an organic

spice company in

Brattleboro, Vermont. " Virtually all conventional

spices sold in the

United States are fumigated [sterilized] with

hazardous chemicals that

are banned in Europe, " he says. " And they may be

produced in a manner

that is destructive to the ecosystems where they're

grown. " This

includes cultivating spices on clear-cut lands and

treating them with

pesticides. As a consequence, spices may be

contaminated with

pesticide residues and with genetically modified

ingredients; almost

10 percent are irradiated as well.

 

ForesTrade, for one, is out to change that. Since

1995, it has been

bringing organic spices to market at a rate that's

taking even some

industry insiders by surprise. Organic spices are

growing by some 30

percent annually, compared to less than two percent

for regular

spices, and the growth shows no signs of slowing

anytime soon.

 

Farming it Out

 

To procure organic spices, ForesTrade contracts with

nearly 5,000

farmers in Indonesia and Guatemala and is creating

alliances with

others in India, Sri Lanka and Madagascar. These

farmers agree to

follow sustainable agriculture practices, avoiding the

chemical

pesticides and fertilizers often used to grow

conventional spice

plants. Instead, they rely on composting, crop

rotation and biological

pest and disease control. They also agree not to poach

rainforest

preserves, where some farmers previously clear-cut

slopes to plant

crops, despoiling the environment and causing

widespread erosion. The

company, in turn, provides farmers with ongoing

support. " We have

field staff who are involved in organizing farmers to

help them

incorporate ecological techniques into their farming

and improve the

quality of their production, " says Fricke.

 

As with any plant, spices in the field can be tainted

by any number of

contaminants: insects, molds, yeasts -- even

pathogens, like

salmonella or E. coli, the virulent bacteria linked to

scores of

outbreaks of foodborne illness. To combat these, most

conventional

food manufacturers in the United States sterilize

spices with toxic

chemicals. The most common is ethylene oxide, a gas

that can leave

residues on spices that may be harmful to human health

and cause

cancer in workers who have prolonged exposure to it.

The chemical has

been banned in many European countries and Japan.

 

They've also turned increasingly to irradiation. First

approved by the

U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use on

spices in 1983,

irradiation exposes spices to up to a million rads of

ionizing

radiation -- the equivalent of one billion chest

X-rays (the highest

amounts allowed for any food). This process kills

contaminants without

appreciably altering the appearance and taste of the

food. But Mark

Worth, senior researcher at Public Citizen's Critical

Mass Energy and

Environment Project in Washington, D.C., says the

technology creates

as many problems as it solves. Irradiation changes the

chemical

composition of a spice, potentially creating toxic and

carcinogenic

by-products in the food. Irradiation facilities may

pose an even more

serious threat to our health. " Any time you have

workers handling

radioactive material, there is a potential for

accidents to occur, "

says Worth. Since 1974, the Nuclear Regulatory

Commission has recorded

over 50 such accidents at 132 irradiation facilities

worldwide.

 

Instead of resorting to irradiation, ForesTrade and

other organic

spice companies such as Frontier Natural Products

sterilize spices

mostly with steam heat. " Heat kills bacteria, and so

steaming can be

an effective, safe way to sterilize non-leaf spices "

like clove and

nutmeg, says T.J. McIntyre, Frontier's manager of

spices. It's less so

for herbs, like tarragon, because steaming can strip

herbs of flavor

and essential oils. In that case, organic companies

may fumigate herbs

with dioxide or freeze them. Even then, Frontier

extensively tests

spices for contamination before they're shipped from

processing plants

abroad and again when they arrive at Frontier's U.S.

plant. " We

maintain very strict specifications [for purity], "

says McIntyre;

spices that don't measure up are tossed. ForesTrade

works to eliminate

contamination at the source, minimizing the need for

sterilization by

ensuring that farmers sun-dry spices in clean

environments and by

improving the sanitary conditions of the farms.

 

A Spicier Market

 

Organic spices contain none of the fillers (like

sugar), synthetic

anti-caking agents, artificial colors, flavors or

preservatives that

may be found in conventional spices. They're also not

irradiated and

are free of genetically modified ingredients.

 

But a number of organic spice companies take producing

a high-quality

product in an environmentally friendly manner a step

further and work

to improve the lives of farmers and their communities.

ForesTrade pays

farmers more than they'd receive for conventionally

grown crops. In

1995, Frontier launched a project that brought

electricity to a

village that produces some of the company's organic

coffee in northern

Peru; two years ago, its fundraiser provided relief to

earthquake

victims in Turkish villages, which source spices to

the company. Yogi

Tea, which uses spices in its teas, operates an

organic black pepper

operation in India that offers housing, health aid and

education to

local communities.

 

ForesTrade produces 15 different spices, which it

supplies to a number

of different food and spice companies, including Yogi

Tea and The

Spice Hunter, which recently began offering a line of

more than 30

certified organic spices from allspice to turmeric.

But on the retail

level, the biggest supplier of organic spices is

Frontier. The company

sells more than 300 certified organic spices, mostly

through natural

foods stores; more will be added as Frontier converts

all of its

spices to organic. You can also get organic spices

from Starwest

Botanicals and Nur Natur.

 

And that's just the beginning. " Until now, organic

spices have kind of

fallen through the cracks " of the organic revolution,

says Fricke. But

as organic manufacturers look to incorporate spices

into their

packaged foods, and as large conventional spice

manufacturers begin to

go organic themselves, " we're going to see a strong

surge in sales, "

he predicts. " All in all, the future for organic

spices looks very

bright. "

 

 

 

Mark Harris adds spice to E articles from his home in

Bethlehem, PA,

where he also writes a weekly column for the LA Times

Syndicate.

 

 

 

 

 

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