April 23, 2021
According Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) Chairperson Rita Teaotia, the regulatory bodies need to be more vigilant to ensure food safety and quality.
While inaugurating the fifth session of the Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs (CCSCH), Teaotia described the risk of unscrupulous and intentional adulteration of spices through substitution due to their high economic value. This economically motivated adulteration is major malpractice and we need to be extremely vigilant, particularly in the regulatory space to avoid such practices,” she said.
Teaotia emphasized that it is vital to have consistent Codex standards for spices products in global trade and this is a work that needs the highest priority to ensure the safety and quality of the spices and culinary herbs being traded across the world.
The regulatory bodies need to be more vigilant to ensure food safety and quality.
Guilherme da Costa Jr, Chair of Codex Alimentarius Commission, said it is essential to develop and disseminate Codex standards to ensure the safety and quality of food for everyone, everywhere.
To advance and increase worldwide standards for spices and culinary herbs and to consult with other international organisations in the standards development process, CCSCH was formed in 2013 with the support of more than 100 countries, with India as the host country and Spices Board India as the secretariat for organizing the sessions of the committee.