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6 Kerala warehouses sealed & 7,000 tonnes of adulterated pepper seized
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Friday, 28 December, 2012, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Akshay Kalbag, Mumbai
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fiogf49gjkf0d Six National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX)-accredited warehouses in Kerala were sealed recently, following complaints that the stock of black pepper was adulterated. Food safety authorities, who sent the seized samples to the laboratory for tests, are now awaiting the results.
When FnB News contacted the Commissionerate of Food Safety, Government of Kerala, K Ajith Kumar, designated officer, Ernakulam, confirmed this, and added, “About 7,000 tonnes of black pepper have been seized.” The cost of the stock is approximately Rs 300 crore.
“The warehouses are located in the districts of Ernakulam and Alappuzha,” he added. NCDEX accepts black pepper deposits as per its standard specifications only. The issue of mineral oil – with which the pepper samples were found to be adulterated – was raised for the first time.
Mineral oil is deemed unfit for human consumption, and is not permitted to be used in any edible commodity. It was perhaps used to suppress fungus or moulds and give the spice more weight and its characteristic dark black colour.
NCDEX's corporate services department is looking into buyers' complaints for mineral oil content, and is in touch with the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) for further course of action.
Method to make black pepper
Black pepper is produced by cooking the unripe (green) drupe (fruit) of the pepper plant briefly in hot water. This is done for two reasons – to clean them, and to prepare them for drying. The heat ruptures the cell walls in the pepper, hastening the work of the browning enzymes during drying.
The traditional method is to dry the drupes in the sun for several days, but now machines are also used for the same purpose. At this stage, the pepper around the seed shrinks and darkens into a thin, wrinkled layer, which is black in colour.
The dried spice is called black peppercorn. At some places, the berries are manually separated from the stem and sun-dried, thus eliminating the boiling process. After the peppercorns are dried, the berries can be crushed to extract pepper spirit and oil.
Uses of the derivatives
- Pepper spirit is used in aerated beverages such as Coca-Cola and a number of medicinal and beauty products
- Pepper oil is used as an oil in ayurvedic massage, and used in a number of beauty and herbal treatments
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