January 2026: Black Pepper

Giridhar Rao with Terova ™ a subsidiary of Griffith Foods provided an update on turmeric as part of the 2026 Winter Crop Reports. The presentation provided an overview of crops, supply, demand, market price and inventory, quality, an outlook, and summary/conclusions.

This session provided an overview of the role of Codex Alimentarius in influencing global regulations and promoting global regulatory harmonization. Nick Gardner explains the foundations of Codex Alimentarius and summarizes recent developments of interest to the spice industry, including discussions on country of harvest labeling and contaminant standards. He also examined the potential ramifications of the U.S. withdrawal from the World Health Organization and how this may influence the U.S.'s role in international food policy.