7 July 2003, Rome -- As the
UN's Codex Alimentarius Commission announces agreement on
international guidelines for food trade and production, farmers
and commodity traders in the lush, southern Indian state of
Kerala know that good standards mean better business.
For centuries, the engine driving economic development
in Kerala and its main port city, Cochin, has been the spice
trade -- especially trade in black pepper. Some aspects of the
Cochin pepper trade have remained unchanged for centuries. But a
new focus on internationally recognized food safety norms means
that Kerala black pepper is reaching more consumers around the
globe than ever before.
Backyard
production, international markets
Pepper plants do not require intensive care. Once
planted at the base of shade-giving trees, they need little
attention until after the monsoons, when it's time to
harvest.
This fact, combined with laws
limiting agricultural production on large farms to four
principal crops, means that pepper is commonly grown in Kerala
as a secondary crop by farmers -- and by most other area
residents as well. It offers a worry-free way for households to
supplement their incomes.
"If you
have a bit of land, you'll probably have at least four or
five pepper plants," observes Ramachandran Nallathambi,
a shopkeeper from Kerala.
Mr Nallathambi
and his neighbours have no trouble selling whatever pepper they
can grow -- however large or small the amount -- for a good
price to the traders of Cochin. The traders, in turn, sell on
the international market, where demand for spices continues to
grow.
Despite increasing competition from
other spice-producing countries, it is estimated that 45 percent
of all spices sold around the world come from India. Much of the
black pepper exported to Asia, Europe and the United States is
grown by small producers in Kerala like Ramachandran
Nallathambi.
Questions of
safety Growth in international
trade of agricultural products like pepper has been accompanied
by higher international standards of food safety. And so
processing -- when micro-organisms are eliminated from the spice
-- is a critical component of India's dynamic pepper export
industry.
Traditional processing methods,
such as steam sterilization and fumigation, are still used
around the world and are accepted by spice-importing countries.
Yet some of the chemicals used in fumigation are considered
damaging to human health and the environment.
Alongside these older methods, the use of new
technologies, such as irradiation, is becoming increasingly
common. There is a real need for effective ways to safely
sanitize agricultural produce. Worldwide, about 25 percent of
all food production is lost to insects, bacteria and rodents
after harvesting, according to FAO estimates. Irradiation can
help cut these losses while reducing dependence on chemical
pesticides.
When integrated within an
established system for the safe handling and distribution of
food, the technology has been successfully used to combat
threats from foodborne diseases, control pest infestation of
grains and extend the shelf lives of products. Today, health
and safety authorities in over 40 countries have approved
irradiation of over 60 different foods, including grains,
chicken, beef, fruits, vegetables -- and spices.
Following the Codex Alimentarius Commission's
adoption in 1983 of a worldwide standard covering irradiated
foods, the use of irradiation in tackling food safety problems
began to receive more attention internationally. The standard
was based on a 1980 study by a group of experts convened by
Codex, who concluded that irradiation of any food commodity up
to an overall average dose of 10 kilogray (kGy)
"presents no toxicological hazard."
During its 26th session, which closed
today, the Commission adopted a revised version of the Codex
General Standard for Irradiated Foods. The revised standard
maintains a maximum absorbed dose of 10 kGy, but allows limited
exceptions to this limit when necessary to achieve a legitimate
technological purpose, and provided that it does not compromise
consumer safety or wholesomeness of food. This decision was
taken in part on the basis of a WHO evaluation and several joint
FAO-WHO-International Atomic Energy Agency expert group
conclusions that irradiated foods are safe and nutritionally
adequate.
For spice-producing countries
like India, irradiation offers an attractive alternative to
traditional sanitation methods. Heat treatment can cause
significant loss of flavour and aroma; fumigation with
sterilizing gases is also problematic, as these chemicals are
banned in a number of countries.
Irradiation of spices on a commercial scale is
practised in over 20 countries; in 2000, worldwide some 80 000
metric tonnes of spice were processed using irradiation.
In India, irradiation facilities are only
available in Mumbai, but there are plans for more.
"We would as a matter of policy like to
encourage the installation of facilities that will provide the
kind of cleanliness that the importing countries
require," says C.J. Jose, Chairman of the Spices Board
of India, the branch of India's Ministry of Commerce
responsible for overseeing the national spice industry.
According to Dr N. Ramamoorthy, Chief
Executive of India's Board of Radiation and Isotope
Technology, "out of the various methods, such as
chemical fumigation and other things, irradiation provides a
very cost-effective and a very clean method, with no residues --
nothing is left."
"Irradiation is a process which is
economical, which will take care of all major contaminants and
microbial load," says Mr Jose. But, he adds,
"the major problem confronting irradiation is the
psychological resistance in many countries, either because of
consumer resistance or because of legislative reasons, which are
not really founded on strong health and safety
concerns."
Food safety debates
like that surrounding the use of irradiation lie at the heart of
the work of the Codex Alimentarius Commission. Codex brings
nations from around the world together to evaluate agriculture
and processing methods and hammer out commonly accepted
guidelines for international food safety based on the best
available science.
High standards
mean good business By bringing
its pepper processing standards in line with the international
norms outlined in Codex, India is not only addressing core
issues of health and safety -- it is also opening doors to its
products around the world.
"This
is important to build up the image of the country,"
explains Dr Sashi Sareen, Director of India's Export
Inspection Council (EIC), "to see that the products
which are exported are of the right quality [and] don't get
rejected at the importing end."
The council conducts stringent inspections of
commodity exports, including black pepper. An EIC certification
gives importing countries a guarantee that products are of the
highest quality and meet internationally accepted standards for
hygiene. This gives even small producers like Ramachandran
Nallathambi the opportunity to benefit from global trade.
"The U.S. has recognized the
Export Inspection Council certification for black
pepper," notes Dr Sareen. "Every black pepper
consignment which is approved or certified here, that gets a
direct entry into the U.S."
Through its participation in Codex, India has engaged
with the international community to establish common benchmarks
for food safety that reflect both the particular conditions
affecting its national agricultural sector and global food
safety standards.
"India has been
quite remarkable in the Codex in the last few years,"
observes Alan Randell, Secretary of the Commission. "I
think it has understood the importance of international food
standards, and that an investment in meeting food standards
reaps benefits in trade, in that it allows the country to trade
more freely with the important trading partners around the
world."
Contact:
George Kourous
Information Officer, FAO
(+39) 06 57053168
george.kourous@fao.org
