Food Safety
ASTA’s mission is to ensure the supply of pure, safe spice to consumers. Our top priority is supporting public health and protecting consumers through education, research, and advocacy efforts.
Why food safety matters
Food safety is crucial for preventing foodborne illnesses, protecting public health, and ensuring the quality and integrity of food. Maintaining food safety standards in spices helps to minimize the risk of contamination by pathogens, chemicals, and other hazardous substances, ensuring that spices are safe to consume and supporting overall health.
Top food safety issues affecting spices
Spices are safe for consumers. ASTA members across the spice supply chain are committed to protecting consumers from:
- Microbial hazards, including Salmonella
- Cross-contact with allergens, such as peanuts
- Packaging hazards, such as fragments from equipment or packaging
ASTA provides a range of programs and publications and conducts research to ensure that companies have the tools they need to deliver safe spices to consumers.
Treatment Methods for Safe Spices
To ensure that a spice is safe for consumption, all spices need to undergo a validated kill step to eliminate the risk of harmful bacteria before they can be sold.
Treatment methods to control Salmonella include steam and heat treatment, irradiation, and fumigation. Treatments vary according to spice and company and are designed to both eliminate the risk of contamination from foodborne pathogens and preserve the quality of the spice.
Food Safety Advocacy
FDA Partnership
The Food Safety Modernization Act is a significant piece of legislation that is aimed at shifting the focus of federal regulators from responding to contamination to preventing it. This act requires companies to have food safety plans that identify potential hazards and establish methods to mitigate these hazards.
ASTA has partnered with the FDA to implement these regulations and to support compliance across the spice industry by providing education and training to member organizations.
Safe Sterilization and Processing
Managing pathogens, such as Salmonella, is a top priority across the spice industry. Because of the conditions in which spices are grown and stored, spices and herbs are at risk of contamination from microorganisms and bacteria. To address this risk, sterilizing agents are used to kill pathogens and ensure that spices are safe for consumption.
Current advocacy efforts are focused on ensuring that safe, effective sterilizing agents are available for all spices. ASTA is also advocating for new processing conditions to more effectively eliminate bacteria from spices.
Food Safety Resources
To support our goal of ensuring a supply of pure, safe spice to American consumers, ASTA has developed an extensive library of Food Safety resources for both ASTA members and the general public.
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