Everything about food, from matching food and wine to recipes, techniques and trends.

Salmonella in Indian spices

Moderators: Jenise, Robin Garr, David M. Bueker

no avatar
User

wnissen

Rank

Wine guru

Posts

1221

Joined

Wed Mar 22, 2006 1:16 pm

Location

Livermore, CA

Salmonella in Indian spices

by wnissen » Wed Aug 28, 2013 2:37 pm

I had no idea that spices were contaminated with salmonella:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/28/world ... .html?_r=0
15% of coriander samples had salmonella, which is incredible to me since it't's a fibrous seed. How does it get contaminated? I've used freshly ground cumin from the Indian market on goat cheese balls, but now I think I will microwave it before I use it raw.
Walter Nissen
no avatar
User

Karen/NoCA

Rank

Hunter/Gatherer

Posts

6325

Joined

Thu Mar 23, 2006 8:55 pm

Re: Salmonella in Indian spices

by Karen/NoCA » Wed Aug 28, 2013 3:34 pm

wnissen wrote:I had no idea that spices were contaminated with salmonella:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/28/world ... .html?_r=0
15% of coriander samples had salmonella, which is incredible to me since it't's a fibrous seed. How does it get contaminated? I've used freshly ground cumin from the Indian market on goat cheese balls, but now I think I will microwave it before I use it raw.

I'm not an expert on this but I believe that salmonella is in the water that waters the plants. I recall something about farming practices being mentioned one time where there were animals grazing near water that runs off into the ground or into nearby ditches which eventually finds its way into the plants we consume. Floods contaminate water supplies, too. I think India has the highest rate of salmonella in foods. So when using those types of spices they need to be cooked at a high heat to kill the bacteria.

did you also know that when walking your dog in your neighborhood, you should never let your dog drink water along the side of the road or in puddles or ditches? We have a neighbor who lost his beloved family dog after drinking water in a puddle.
no avatar
User

Carl Eppig

Rank

Our Maine man

Posts

4149

Joined

Tue Jun 13, 2006 1:38 pm

Location

Middleton, NH, USA

Re: Salmonella in Indian spices

by Carl Eppig » Wed Aug 28, 2013 3:50 pm

Maybe that's why we have always to advised to cook our curries either home mixed or bought in oil before proceeding with other ingredients.
no avatar
User

Shaji M

Rank

Wine guru

Posts

669

Joined

Thu Apr 05, 2007 3:24 pm

Re: Salmonella in Indian spices

by Shaji M » Wed Aug 28, 2013 4:54 pm

India has a terrible record where food safety laws and enforcement is concerned. But, this is the first time I have heard about salmonella in dried spices. 15% is a scary statistic. I guess, I too will avoid using the spices uncooked! Thank you for the article wnissen.
-Shaji

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Amazonbot, ClaudeBot, Majestic-12 [Bot] and 1 guest

Powered by phpBB ® | phpBB3 Style by KomiDesign