Archive
Food Safety
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What is the aflatoxin risk in spices?
Aflatoxins form when storage moulds grow on inadequately dried or badly stored material. Maximum levels are set in EU law and no…
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What is the Radura symbol and does the EU require it?
Radura is the international logo for irradiated food. The EU requirement is the wording ‘irradiated’ or ‘treated with ionising radiation’, not the…
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Are wild mushrooms a novel food in the EU?
Whole fruiting bodies of long-consumed species are not. Mycelium from fermentation, extracts and concentrated fractions can be, and the operator carries the…
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What is steam sterilisation for spices?
A short, controlled exposure to saturated steam that reduces the microbial load, followed by immediate re-drying. It is the mainstream EU alternative…
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Irradiation Rules for Spices in the EU: What Is Permitted and What Must Be Declared
Dried spices carry a microbiological load from the field. What Directive 1999/2/EC permits for irradiation, what must be declared and the options.
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Cultivated vs Wild Mushrooms: Supply, Documentation and Where the Risk Sits
Cultivated mushrooms give consistency, continuity and traceability; wild ones give a flavour profile and a species range that cannot be farmed. This…
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Irradiated vs Non-Irradiated Spices: The Decision and What It Costs
Dried herbs and spices are the only category the EU permits to be irradiated, and most European retail specifications exclude it anyway.…
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What does mutual recognition of food safety schemes mean?
That a buyer accepts any scheme benchmarked to a common standard, rather than insisting on one named certificate.
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What documents belong in a supplier approval pack?
A certificate, a specification, an allergen and origin statement, a traceability description, insurance and the commercial terms, as a minimum.