Spices and Herbs

5.1.3 Dutch standards
The Netherlands is a very significant spice trader for many European countries and the
spices bought are therefore determined by the requirements both of Dutch industry and
also of end users in the major export markets. The quality standards required by Dutch
traders must ultimately meet the strict specifications of supply set by the food industry and
by companies in the spice blending, processing and packing sector.
In the Dutch Food and Drugs Act (“Warenwet”), the minimum standard requirements for
spices and herbs are laid down in the Spice Decree. This decree provides a general
description of what the law understands by the term “spice” (the Act uses this term to
include both spices and herbs) and lists the products for which the term “spice” may be
used, giving for each a specification of the plant, or family of plants, from which the spice
was produced.
In summary, the Spice Decree demands that a “spice” must:
have a colour, taste and aroma which is characteristic for the spice under consideration;
only contain a small quantity of insects, animals or parts thereof, as indicated in the
regulation on residues. This lists in detail which residues are allowed in spices and
herbs (more than 300 residues in total) and describes how many parts per million are
allowed;
not be spoilt or visibly mildewed;
not have had any substances extracted, except in the case of mustard flour of which a
part of the fat may be extracted;
contain no ethylene oxide. Since 1991 the use of ethylene oxide in the cleaning process
has been banned (it is prohibited throughout the EU);
contain no added colouring agents;
contain no other additives.
Other regulations concerning broken down and mixed spices include the following:
if a spice is ground or otherwise reduced, the name should be accompanied by the terms
“broken”, “ground”, “powder” or “flour”;
mixtures of spices must be indicated by the term “spice mixture”;
the term “curry powder” may only be used for mixtures containing more than 15 per
cent of tumeric;
food and beverages in which a certain spice mixture is an essential characteristic must
give an indication of the amount of the spice in percentages of the total product, and a
qualitative description of other ingredients, unless prescribed otherwise in the Food and
Drugs Act.
In general, requirements on cleanliness and admitted levels of pesticides and herbicides are
strict and testing procedures to detect microbiological contamination, especially from
pesticide residues, are becoming more severe. The absence of aflatoxin and salmonella are
critical: evidence of salmonella infection in a shipment would lead to all the merchandise
being condemned by the public health authorities. Phytosanitary regulations tend to be
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